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ETCHING 

AND  OTHER  GRAPHIC  ARTS 
AN  ILLUSTRATED  TREATISE 


BY 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


WITH 
AN  ORIGINAL  ETCHING  FRONTISPIECE 
AND  T/FENTY'SIX  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK:  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 
LONDON:  JOHN  LANE,  THE  BODLEY  HEAD 
TORONTO:  BELL  &  COCKBURN  :  MCMXIV 


v^' 


Y^ 


Copyright,  1914,  By 
JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 


PUBLISHERS    PRINTING   COMPANY 
ao7-ax7  West  Twenty-fifth  Street,  New  York 


TO 

SIR  FRANK  SHORT,  R.A.,  P.R.E. 

WHOSE  KINDLY  GUIDANCE  HAS  LED  SO  MANY  BEGINNERS 
THROUGH  THE  FIRST  STEPS  OF  ETCHING 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  author  desires  to  acknowledge 
his  indebtedness  to  the  various  artists 
who  have  kindly  allowed  their  etchings 
to  be  reproduced  in  this  work.  Also 
to  the  Berlin  Photographic  Company 
of  New  York  City  for  the  use  of 
prints,  and  to  Martin  Bimbaum,  Esq., 
for  permission  to  reproduce  prints  from 
his  private  collection. 


HP 


FOREWORD 

HE  awakening  interest  in  the  Graphic 
■      Arts  now  evident  in  America  is  most 

apparent  when  we  consider  Etching. 
A  number  of  our  large  cities  already  have 
flourishing  Etching  societies  and  more  are 
being  organised.  There  is  an  increasing  num- 
ber of  successful  exhibitions  of  the  works  of 
American  Etchers — successful  both  in  the 
matter  of  attendance — and,  quite  as  impor- 
tant, in  the  number  of  prints  sold.  Our  dis- 
criminating collectors  are  showing  more  in- 
terest in  the  work  of  living  Artists,  while  the 
numerous  Art  Clubs  throughout  the  country, 
after  years  of  delving  into  art  history,  are 
coming  to  realise  the  interest  and  worth  of 
modern  reproductive  Art. 

Many  of  the  most  useful  books  on  etching 
are  published  abroad  and  are  either  out  of 


FOREWORD 

print  or  expensive.  In  addition  none  of  the 
practical  manuals  are  written  for  use  in  this 
country,  with  the  possible  exception  of  La- 
lanne's  "Treatise  on  Etching/'  An  English 
translation  of  this  book  was  published  in  Bos- 
ton some  thirty  years  ago  and  is  now  out  of 
print. 

The  first  part  of  the  present  volume  is  de- 
voted to  the  subjects  which  are  necessary  to 
a  complete  understanding  of  etching.  They 
will  also  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  beginner  in 
his  preliminary  work.  The  point  cannot  be 
too  strongly  emphasised  that  etching  should 
not  be  attempted  until  one  has  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  drawing. 

In  the  second  or  technical  part  of  the  book 
I  have  endeavoured  to  omit  nothing,  no  mat- 
ter how  elementary,  that  might  assist  the  be- 
ginner. Even  the  more  experienced  may  find 
these  chapters  of  use,  at  least  in  saving  them- 
selves the  trouble  of  consulting  various  works 
for  some  needed  formula.  Those  who  al- 
ready enjoy  the  Graphic  Arts  will  appreciate 


FOREWORD 

them  more  intelligently  and  derive  additional 
pleasure  from  them  by  knowing  something 
of  the  technical  side. 

The  fact  that  most  etchings  do  not  tell  a 
story,  lack  the  assistance  of  colour,  are  not 
concerned  with  the  mere  copying  of  facts,  thus 
leaving  much  to  the  imagination,  tends  to 
make  this  art  less  easily  understood  by  the 
amateur.  The  more  numerous  the  conventions 
the  greater  is  the  knowledge  required  for  in- 
telligent understanding.  "Scorn  for  limited 
means  of  expression  in  art  arises  from  im- 
perfect culture."  The  finest  thoughts  of  the 
great  Masters  have  often  been  expressed  by  a 
few  lines  and  with  the  cheapest  materials. 

While  naturally  placing  great  stress  on  the 
manual  and  technical  part  of  Black  and 
White,  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  point 
out  that  all  this  is  of  no  avail  if  one  is  not 
an  artist.  It  is  true  that  manual  dexterity 
never  made  an  artist,  and  it  is  also  true  that 
no  work  of  art  has  been  injured  by  being 
well  presented.     I   am  not  forgetting  that 


FOREWORD 

there  are  many  most  charming  little  etch- 
ings which  are  crude  in  execution.  To  do  a 
thing  thoroughly  well  one  must  do  it  with 
ease.  An  artist  should  be  sufficiently  master 
of  methods  not  to  be  hindered  in  working 
out  his  design.  Working  methods  in  etching 
are  greatly  influenced  by  the  individuality 
of  the  artist.  Every  etcher  has  his  own  way 
of  working  which  he  considers,  and  which 
usually  is,  the  best  for  him. 

Much  of  the  contents  of  this  book  is  de- 
rived from  notes  made  during  the  last  three 
years  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent.  As 
a  student  in  the  Engraving  Department  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Art  at  South  Kensing- 
ton, it  was  my  great  privilege  to  be  initiated 
into  the  mysteries  of  acids  and  grounds  by 
the  master  craftsman.  Sir  Frank  Short. 

George  T.  Plowman. 


CONTENTS 

PART   ONE 

CHAPTER  PACS 

I.     Pencil  Drawing  and  Composition  .       .  19 

II.     Pen  Drawing 28 

III.  Wood  Engraving 38 

IV.  Lithography 42 

V.     Line  Engraving 48 

VI.     Etching 53 

VII.     Dry-Point,  Soft  Ground,  Etc.       .      .  65 

PART  TWO 

VIII.     List  of  Materials  for  Etching       .       ,  73 

IX.     Preparing  the  Plate  for  Acid        .       .  88 

X.     Drawing  on  the  Plate,  Etc.   ...  93 

XI.     Biting  the  Plate,  Etc 98 

XII.     Reworking  Ground,  Etc 108 

XIII.  Other  Methods Ill 

XIV.  For  a  First  Experiment     ....  117 
XV.     Printing 122 

Bibliography 141 

Index 149 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Original  Etching In  Rome Frontispiece 

George  T.  Plowman 

FACING  PAGE 

Pencil  Drawing Naples 20 

George  T,  Plowman 

Pencil  Drawing Florence 22 

George  T.  Plowman 

Silver  Point 24 

George  T.  Plowman 

I      Charcoal  Drawing.  .  .Woolworth  Building,  N.  Y.. .  26 
George  T.  Plowman 

Pen  Drawing Santa  Monica,  California. ...  32 

George  T,  Plowman 

Woodcut 38 

Albrecht  Diirer 

Wood  Engraving , 40 

John  P.  Davis 

Woodcut 42 

Leonard  W.  Pike 

Lithograph Rome  from  Villa  Aurelia ....  44 

George  T.  Plowman 

Lithograph Rue  Boutebrea,  Paris 46 

George  T.  Plowman 

Steel  Engraving Portrait  of  Washington  after 

Stuart  by  Halpin 50 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Etching A  Dutch  Greengrocerie 54 

Sir  Frank  Short,  R.A.,  P.R.E. 

Etching Street  Scene 58 

Maxime  Lalanne 

Drypoint The  Talmudist 64 

Hermann  Struck 

Aquatint The  Dark  Tower 68 

Vojtech  Preissig 

Mezzotint Landscape 70 

E.  Marsden  Wilson,  A.R.E. 

Etching Landscape 74 

Sir  Frank  Short,  R.A.,  P.R.E. 

Etching The  Watchman 84 

Marcus  Behmen 

Etching Self  Portrait 92 

Max  Liebermann 

Woodcut  in  Color. .  . .  The  Leafless  Tree 98 

Emil  Orlik 

Etching The  Dancer 108 

Anne  Goldthwaite 

Soft  Ground D'Andrade  as  Don  Juan 112 

Max  Slevogt 

Etching  from  Don  Juan  Portfolio 116 

Hans  Meid 

Etching Richmond  Castle 122 

Percival  Gaskell,  R.E. 

Etching  Tools Plate  1 140 

Etching  Tools Plate  II 140 


PART  ONE 


t 
» 


CHAPTER   I 

PENCIL   DRAWING  AND   COMPOSITION 

''Go  slowly  at  first  in  order  that  you  may  go  fast  in 
the  end'* 

AS  a  preliminary  to  the  making  of  pen 
and  ink  drawings  or  etchings,  many 
pencil  drawings  should  be  made.  The 
pencil  employed  for  this  purpose  should  be 
rather  hard — an  H  or  HB.  The  hard  pen- 
cil approaches  the  directness  of  the  pen. 
A  rather  smooth  paper  is  best,  and  the  same 
kind  should  be  used  all  the  time,  as  a  dif- 
ferent technique  is  required  when  drawing 
on  rough  paper.  Soft  pencils  and  rough 
paper  are  usually  employed  when  making 
pencil  drawings  which  are  not  intended  for 
use  in  etching.  Often  pencils  of  varying  de- 
grees of  hardness  are  used  in  the  same  draw- 
ing. The  usual  practise  is  to  employ  those 
grading  from  3  or  4B  to  H,  although  every 

19 


20  ETCHING   AND 

artist  has  his  own  way  of  working.  The 
pencil  is  not  so  black  as  the  chalk  or  pen. 
It  has  a  disagreeable  shine,  and  looks  grey 
when  placed  beside  ink  drawings.  In  good 
pencil  work  black  is  used  sparingly.  Exces- 
sive blacks  and  a  high  degree  of  finish  are 
signs  of  the  amateur.  The  sketch  should 
be  drawn  with  decision,  first  slightly  indi- 
cating the  main  contours  and  masses.  Selec- 
tion will  come  with  practise.  At  first  you 
will  do  too  much.  Local  colour  should  be 
sparingly  suggested  or  omitted  altogether. 
Bear  in  mind  that  the  fewer  facts  consistent 
with  completeness  the  better  the  sketch.  "So 
long  as  a  drawing  is  harmonious,  it  need 
not  be  carried  far."  In  time  you  will  learn 
to  feel  your  drawing,  and  without  thinking 
select  only  what  will  assist  the  effect  desired. 
It  is  good  sometimes  to  make  careful  stud- 
ies— of  trees,  for  instance — carrying  the  work 
as  far  as  possible  and  trying  to  learn  some- 
thing of  the  way  in  which  trees  grow.  An- 
other good  exercise  is  to  make  fifteen-minute 


i  1^ 


,^j  y 


NAPLES 

Pencil  Drawinif  by 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       21 

sketches.  Stop  at  the  end  of  the  time, 
whether  the  sketch  is  finished  or  not.  Do 
this  regularly  for  a  month,  and  you  will  find 
much  improvement.  Do  not  be  too  wor- 
ried if  your  work  has  not  the  looseness  or 
freedom  of  handling  you  could  wish.  This 
most  desirable  quality  will  come  in  its  own 
time,  and  should  not  be  forced.  One  who 
strives  too  much  for  looseness  in  the  begin- 
ning loses  in  solidity. 

There  is  no  pleasure  equal  to  the  ability, 
acquired  after  long  practise,  to  express  with 
ease  on  paper  any  subject  you  may  select. 
This  is  the  only  way  by  which  quality  of 
line  may  be  developed  and  improved;  and 
quality  of  line  is  of  vital  importance  in  etch- 
ing. Draw  from  nature  every  day.  Be 
composing  all  the  time.  Constant  practise 
with  the  pencil  is  most  important  for  the 
beginner  in  etching.  The  musician  practises 
scales  and  exercises  every  day.  In  the  same 
way  the  etcher  should  employ  his  sketch  book 
constantly.    The  ability  to  make  good  pencil 


22  ETCHING   AND 

drawings  is  surprisingly  rare  among  artists. 
Most  of  them  are  content  to  jot  down  a 
rough  memorandum  with  a  very  soft  pencil. 
The  softer  the  pencil  the  easier  it  is  to  get 
some  sort  of  an  effect.  For  the  rapid  sketch 
from  nature,  no  medium  equals  the  soft 
pencil. 

"Koh-i-noor"  or  Faber  drawing  pencils, 
3-ply  smooth,  or  Strathmore  or  Harding's 
drawing  papers,  are  all  that  is  necessary  in 
the  way  of  materials.  Many  valuable  hints 
for  pencil  sketching  will  be  found  in  Sir 
Alfred  East's  "Landscape  Painting." 

Silver  Point. — A  silver  point  is  a  drawing 
on  prepared  paper  with  a  silver  pencil  or 
stylus.  The  paper  is  usually  prepared  with 
a  coating  of  Chinese  white.  This  method 
of  drawing  was  employed  before  lead  pencils 
came  into  use.  It  was  a  favourite  medium 
with  the  Old  Masters,  especially  in  the  Flor- 
entine school  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In 
appearance  silver  point  is  not  unlike  a  hard 
lead  pencil  drawing.    It  is  characterised  by 


i  — .0^  i  )  \ 


FLORENCE 

Soft*PenciI  Drawing  by 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       23 

precision  of  line  and  delicacy  of  tone.  The 
point  gives  a  beautiful  grey  line  of  even 
width.  Mistakes  are  not  easily  corrected, 
and  the  only  way  to  erase  lines  is  to  use  a 
brush  with  Chinese  white.  Tinted  papers 
were  sometimes  used  by  the  old  Masters,  the 
light  being  brought  out  with  white.  The 
silver  point  is  best  adapted  to  figure  drawing. 
Legros'  beautiful  portraits  done  in  this  me- 
dium are  examples  of  modern  work.  The 
points  come  in  various  sizes,  usually  three — 
fine,  medium  and  thick.  Robertson  &  Co., 
of  Piccadilly,  London,  supply  the  materials 
for  this  work. 

Chalk  Drawings. — Chalks  of  different  de- 
grees of  hardness  and  various  colours  are 
used  on  tinted  papers  with  interesting  re- 
sults. Black  and  white  chalk  on  grey  paper 
is  very  effective.  Black,  white  and  sanguin 
are  used  for  figure  work.  Rubens'  drawings 
are  examples.  Landscapes  are  best  rendered 
in  brown  chalk.  Nature  may  be  suggested 
by  more  limited  means  with  coloured  chalks 


24  ETCHING   AND 

than  in  any  other  way.  Interesting  examples 
of  chalk  drawings  are  shown  in  the  Studio 
Special  Number  on  "Pen,  Pencil  and  Chalk." 
Charcoal  Drawing. — Charcoal  is  employed 
by  the  painter  in  outlining  his  subject  on  the 
canvas.  It  is  only  in  comparatively  recent 
times  that  it  has  been  used  as  an  independent 
medium,  when  it  is  chiefly  employed  for 
landscapes  and  the  figure.  The  coal  comes 
in  sticks  of  .various  degrees  of  hardness,  and 
is  used  upon  a  grained  paper.  The  facility 
with  which  the  work  can  be  removed  from 
the  paper  by  dusting  with  a  cloth  or  rub- 
bing with  bits  of  stale  bread  allows  of  great 
changes,  so  that  one  can  compose  and  re- 
arrange the  design  with  ease.  This  charac- 
teristic is  also  a  difficulty,  as  the  greatest 
care  must  be  exercised  to  guard  against 
damaging  the  drawing.  The  slightest  touch 
may  spoil  the  work  of  hours.  When  finished 
the  drawing  should  be  fixed  on  the  paper  by 
using  a  blower  and  fixative.  Charcoal  is 
employed  for  tone  rather  than  line,  although 


■TT-XS 


f^'^^^.S  '^■v^ 


SILVER  POINT 

By 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


I 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       25 

a  combination  of  the  two  is  common.  The 
rapidity  with  which  one  gets  an  effect  in 
sketching  from  nature  is  one  of  the  advan- 
tages of  this  medium,  but  it  is  more  adapted 
to  making  large  drawings  than  small  ones. 
While  sometimes  employed  with  crayon  or 
pen,  it  is  at  its  best  when  used  alone.  Rus- 
sian or  compressed  charcoal  and  rough  note 
paper  have  been  used  by  Mr.  Joseph  Pennell 
with  interesting  results  in  a  series  of  draw- 
ings of  New  York  City. 

Composition. — In  making  pictures,  it  is 
found  that  some  arrangements  of  form  and 
values  please  the  eye  and  others  do  not.  The 
conventions  of  composition  are  employed  to 
bring  about  pleasing  pictures.  Balance  of 
parts,  simplicity  and  restfulness  through  se- 
lection, and  what  Ruskin  calls  the  laws  of 
principality  and  repetition,  all  tend  toward 
good  composition.  The  balance  of  parts  is 
best  illustrated  by  the  familiar  example  of 
the  steelyards.  With  two  pounds  of  lead  the 
bulk  will  be  the  same,  but  if  a  pound  of 


26  ETCHING   AND 

feathers  is  balanced  with  a  pound  of  lead, 
the  unequal  bulk  excites  the  curiosity  and 
makes  the  pivotal  point  a  matter  of  interest. 
In  a  composition  this  point  is  known  as  the 
blind  spot,  and  is  the  proper  place  to  put  the 
principal  accent,  such  as  a  group  of  figures. 
Equal  dark  areas  or  equal  light  areas  should 
be  avoided.  Ruskin's  law  is:  a  principal 
dark  value  with  its  repetitions  or  echoes,  or 
a  principal  light  value  with  its  repetitions  or 
echoes.  Simplicity  and  restfulness  are  best 
attained  by  employing  few  values  simply 
arranged  and  broadly  treated.  Three  values 
are  the  least  that  one  can  use  successfully — 
black,  grey  and  white.  Black  values  attract 
the  eye  first  and  should  be  treated  as  broadly 
as  possible  and  be  placed  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  insure  restfulness.  The  more  black 
there  is,  the  greater  the  number  of  values 
which  can  be  employed. 

These  arrangements  will  help  to  indicate 
the  "centre  of  interest,"  which  should  be  at 
or  near  the  centre  of  the  picture.    The  lines 


OL'-yj,''^ — - 


WOOLWORTH  BUILDING. 

NEW  YORK, 

AT  NIGHT 

Charcoal  Drawing  by 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


OTHER    GRAPHIC    ARTS        27 

of  the  composition  should  lead  up  to  the 
"centre  of  interest"  in  graceful  curves.  The 
remainder  of  the  picture  should  be  given 
only  enough  expression  so  that  the  eye  will 
instinctively  seek  this  point.  Whistler's  meth- 
od, or  "secret  of  drawing,"  was  to  "draw  the 
centre  of  interest  first  and  finish  it.  Then 
draw  in  the  surroundings.  Keep  all  the 
composition  well  within  the  frame." 


Hi- 

I 


28  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER    II 

PEN    DRAWING 

'^Art  is  Emphasis^* 

^^^  ■  ^HE  pen  is  the  piccolo  flute  of  the 


ry-M 


artistic  orchestra,"  as  C.  D.  Ma- 
ginnis  calls  it  in  his  delightful 
treatise  on  *Ten  Drawing."  While  the  pen 
has  not  the  perfect  freedom  of  the  etching 
point,  it  is  very  near  to  it  in  this  respect. 
The  limitations  of  the  medium  are  not  unlike 
those  of  etching.  There  is  the  same  conven- 
tion of  the  outline  which  does  not  exist  in 
nature,  and  the  same  disregard  for  colour, 
except  by  suggestion.  Economy  and  indi- 
viduality of  line,  combined  with  a  proper 
regard  for  the  limitations  of  the  medium,  are 
found  in  the  work  of  the  best  pen  draughts- 
men. Individuality  should  be  as  pronounced 
in  pen  work  as  in  one's  handwriting. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       29 

The  technique  of  pen  drawing  has  under- 
gone great  changes  in  comparatively  recent 
times,  largely  on  account  of  the  employment 
of  photo-chemical  processes.  The  "process" 
block  has  almost  entirely  superseded  the  old 
method  of  interpreting  the  artist's  drawing 
by  a  wood  engraving.  This  change  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  limitations  in  the  technique 
of  pen  drawing  as  practised  to-day.  Briefly, 
these  limitations  are:  making  the  lines  clear 
and  distinct,  keeping  the  work  open,  avoid- 
ing involved  passages  which  might  become 
a  blotch  in  reproduction,  especially  if  the 
drawing  is  much  reduced ;  keeping  the  values 
as  few  and  simple  as  possible,  and  using 
only  black  ink  on  white  paper.  The  im- 
provements in  mechanical  reproduction  have 
been  so  rapid  of  late  that  these  limitations 
have  not  the  force  that  they  formerly  had. 
However,  they  all  tend  to  good,  clear  tech- 
nique, and  should  be  considered  for  that,  if 
nothing  else.  Almost  any  drawing  can  now 
be   satisfactorily   reproduced.     A   compara- 


30  ETCHING   AND 

tively  new  method,  called  collotype,  gives 
facsimile  reproductions  of  the  most  delicate 
work. 

The  first  method  of  reproducing  pen  draw- 
ings was  to  trace  them  on  a  block  of  wood. 
The  engraver  then  cut  away  the  wood  be- 
tween the  lines  of  the  design,  which  would 
print  the  same  as  type.  Later  photography 
was  employed  to  transfer  the  drawing  to  the 
block  or  metal  plate,  which  had  still  to  be 
worked  over  by  the  engraver,  who  cut  away 
the  material  between  the  lines.  The  best 
engravers,  notably  those  working  in  America 
in  the  8o's,  did  most  wonderful  work  in  their 
close  imitation  of  the  artist's  design.  The 
last  stage  was  the  discovery  of  a  method  of 
cutting  away  the  metal  in  the  space  between 
the  lines  by  means  of  acid.  The  metal  plate 
thus  treated  was  fastened  to  a  block  of  wood 
the  height  of  type.  "Process,"  as  this  is 
called,  has  many  advantages  over  the  old 
method,  not  the  least  of  which  is  its  cheap- 
ness.    The  fact  that  the  artist's  work  is  re- 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       31 

produced  in  facsimile  instead  of  being  inter- 
preted is  a  great  step  forward. 

A  "process"  block  is  made  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  The  drawing  is  photographed 
and  the  glass  negative  is  placed  over  a  metal 
plate  coated  with  a  gelatine  and  bicarbonate 
of  potassium  composition,  and  exposed  to  the 
light.  When  placed  in  a  bath  of  warm 
water  the  unexposed  gelatine  will  dissolve, 
leaving  the  drawing  as  gelatine  lines  on  a 
metal  surface.  This  surface  is  lowered  by 
placing  the  plate  in  an  acid  bath.  Another 
method  is  to  photograph  the  drawing  di- 
rectly onto  a  zinc  plate  and  then  roll  pre- 
pared ink  over  it;  the  ink  adheres  only  to 
the  lines  which  are  then  brought  into  relief 
by  employing  acid  as  before.  We  now  have 
the  drawing  in  raised  lines  on  a  metal  plate 
which  can  be  printed  from  the  same  as  type. 
You  will  note  that  this  is  the  opposite  of 
etching,  where  the  lines  of  the  drawing  are 
eaten  into  the  plate  by  the  acid. 

A  variation  of  the  above  method,  known 


32  ETCHING   AND 

as  "half  tone,"  is  employed  more  especially 
for  the  reproduction  of  wash  drawings  or 
paintings.  In  this  a  screen  of  varying  de- 
grees of  fineness  is  placed  in  front  of  the 
drawing  to  be  photographed,  thus  dividing 
the  tones  into  dots  or  squares,  which  are 
treated  just  as  the  lines  are  in  the  "process" 
method.  The  screen  causes  the  values  to 
lose  in  strength,  and  this  should  be  consid- 
ered in  the  drawing.  In  photographing  the 
drawing  the  size  can  be  changed  at  will. 
In  most  cases  the  drawing  is  reduced  in  size. 
As  this  affects  the  technique  the  draughtsman 
should  know  beforehand  how  much  the 
drawing  is  to  be  changed  and  work  accord- 
ingly. A  photogravure  is  made  by  photo- 
graphing the  drawing  onto  a  copper  plate 
and  then  biting  the  lines  into  the  copper  as 
in  etching.  The  work  can  then  be  gone 
over  with  a  graver,  if  necessary,  and  must 
be  printed  in  an  etching  press.  The  photo- 
gravure is  more  like  an  etching  than  the 
other  photo  mechanical  methods,  and  is  of 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       33 

course  more  expensive,  as  it  requires  sepa- 
rate printing.  The  history  of  illustration 
has  been  a  striving  after  better  and  cheaper 
methods  of  reproduction.  Line  engraving, 
lithography,  wood  engraving  and  process 
each  show  an  advance  in  ease  and  cheapness. 
The  successful  illustrator  must  know  all 
about  process  and  keep  informed  as  to  the 
improvements  which  are  being  made  from 
time  to  time. 

Some  confusion  exists  as  to  the  difference 
between  etching  and  pen  and  ink  work. 
The  pen  and  ink  reproductions,  which  are 
familiar  to  us  in  prints,  are  usually  made  by 
means  of  the  "process"  method  described 
above,  while  etching  is  seldom  seen  in  illus- 
trated magazines  except  in  reproduction,  as 
its  cost  is  practically  prohibitive  outside  of 
very  expensive  art  publications.  Some  years 
ago  the  "Studio"  printed  a  few  etchings  and 
lithographs,  and  issued  them  as  a  part  of  the 
magazine.  Owing  to  the  great  pressure  em- 
ployed in  printing  an  etching,  the  edge  of 


34  ETCHING   AND 

the  plate  leaves  a  decided  mark  on  the  paper. 
This  plate  mark  and  the  moulded  ridges  of 
ink,  which  can  be  felt  by  passing  the  fingers 
lightly  over  the  darker  parts  of  an  etching, 
are  means  of  distinguishing  an  etching  from 
a  reproduction  of  a  pen  drawing  or  of  an 
etching.  The  etched  line  having  depth  as 
well  as  width,  contains  more  ink  than  the 
pen  line.  The  gamut  of  pen  and  ink  is 
therefore  less  than  that  of  etching,  where 
one  finds  deeper  and  more  velvety  blacks, 
and,  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale,  more  deli- 
cate greys.  The  blacks  of  the  pen  are  much 
deeper  than  those  of  the  pencil,  and  do  not 
have  their  unpleasant  shine. 

The  technique  of  the  pen  is  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  etching  needle. 
Changing  pressure  with  the  pen  results  in 
giving  lines  of  varying  width  and  intensity. 
Sometimes  pens  of  different  sizes  and  strength 
are  employed,  but  usually  with  a  loss  of 
simplicity.  As  the  etching  needle  must  be 
used  with  the  same  pressure  in  all  parts,  a 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       35 

beautiful  grey  in  the  distance  is  attained 
by  drawing  many  lines  close  together  and 
biting  lightly.  Should  the  pen  draughtsman 
work  in  the  same  way,  not  having  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  light  biting,  he  would  prob- 
ably have  to  call  for  "first  aid"  from  the 
photo-engraver  to  get  a  result. 

Simplicity  and  variety  of  line  are  to  be 
kept  constantly  in  mind  by  the  beginner. 
'N  very  careful  pencil  drawing  should  be 
made  first,  and  over  this  the  ink  lines  should 
be  drawn.  The  pencil  drawing  may  then 
be  erased  with  a  soft  rubber.  Don't  try  to 
tell  as  much  with  the  pen  as  with  the  pencil. 
Be  satisfied  with  a  partial  expression.  Strive 
to  make  each  line  valuable,  telling  as  much 
as  possible  of  shade  and  form.  A  good  plan 
is  to  make  numerous  pen  drawings  directly 
from  nature  without  preparatory  pencil 
work;  then  do  the  same  subject  carefully 
and  compare  the  results.  The  ideal  is  to 
retain  the  strength  and  freshness  of  the  quick 
sketch  in  the  finished  drawing.    Pen  and  ink 


86  ETCHING   AND 

drawing  is  a  kind  of  shorthand.  Always 
remember  that  light  and  shade  are  most 
important  in  pen  and  ink,  and  that  colour 
is  only  to  be  suggested,  and  even  may  be 
entirely  disregarded.  There  should  be  few 
lines,  but  each  should  be  made  to  tell.  It  is 
not  easy  to  make  the  result  look  easy,  and 
yet  that  is  an  important  requisite.  The  values 
should  be  few  and  simply  treated.  The  black 
blot  is  most  effective  in  pen  work.  It  repre- 
sents all  values  below  a  certain  level,  just 
as  the  white  paper  represents  those  above  a 
certain  level.  Indicate  as  much  as  possible 
in  the  dark  values  and  as  little  as  possible 
in  the  light. 

Pen  drawing  is  characterised  by  large, 
light  areas,  and  has  therefore  few  values. 
Employing  three  values,  the  following  are 
some  of  the  most  useful  arrangements :  Black 
area  against  white  surrounded  by  grey.  Black 
area  against  grey  surrounded  by  white. 
Black,  grey  and  white  from  edge  of  picture 
to  centre.     Grey  at  top  or  bottom,  dark  in 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       37 

centre,  and  then  white.  A  gradation  from 
dark  through  grey  to  light  is  simple,  and 
therefore  good.  Avoid  all  complicated  ef- 
fects. 

The  method  of  printing  determines  the 
technique  in  pen  drawing  as  much  as  it  does 
in  etching.  The  ink  should  be  very  black 
and  each  line  distinct,  with  an  extra  allow- 
ance of  space  between  to  allow  for  the  thick- 
ening in  reproduction.  As  to  materials,  the 
requirements  are  simple:  A  Gillott  No.  303 
and  a  Crow-quill  pen,  a  bottle  of  Higgins' 
waterproof  ink,  and  for  paper  Bristol  board, 
Whatman's  Hot  Press  or  Strathmore.  The 
treatise  on  "Pen  Drawing,"  by  C.  D.  Ma- 
ginnis,  mentioned  above,  and  the  large  vol- 
ume, "Pen  Drawing  and  Pen  Draughtsmen,'* 
by  Joseph  Pennell,  may  be  consulted  by  those 
who  wish  to  learn  more  of  the  technique 
of  this  most  fascinating  art. 


38  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER   III 
WOOD   ENGRAVING 

WOOD-CUTTING,  or  wood-engrav- 
ing,  is  a  relief  process.  The  de- 
sign is  drawn  on  or  transferred  t( 
a  block  of  wood  and  a  knife  is  employei 
to  cut  away  the  surface  of  the  block  betweei 
the  lines.  The  wood-engraver  does  not  worki 
on  the  lines  of  the  design;  it  is  the  wood 
that  is  left  untouched  which  prints.  This  is 
the  older  method,  but  later  an  engraver's 
burin  was  used  as  well  as  a  knife.  The  oldest 
woodcut  is  dated  1423.  Block  books  were 
made  before  the  invention  of  movable  type, 
both  the  illustrations  and  the  letters  being 
cut  in  the  block.  Many  artists  worked  in 
this  medium  in  Germany  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  A  later  development  was  the  white 
method,  where  the  design  was  cut  into  the 
wood,  so  that  the  print  therefrom  showed 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       39 

as  white  lines  on  a  black  ground.  Thomas 
Bewick  (1753-1828)  introduced  many  new 
methods  into  the  art.  In  the  old  method 
pear-wood  was  cut  with  the  grain.  He  used 
boxwood  cut  across  the  grain.  Bewick  was 
the  first  to  interpret  the  design  rather  than 
to  follow  slavishly  the  lines.  To  illustrate: 
the  shadow  side  of  a  rock  would  be  made, 
in  the  first  method,  by  digging  out  all  the 
space  between  the  artist's  lines.  In  the  later 
method  the  effect  would  be  attained  by  run- 
ning white  lines  through  the  shadow  in  such 
a  way  as  to  get  the  proper  tone  and  charac- 
ter. This  required  much  more  skill  on  the 
part  of  the  engraver. 

A  further  change  in  the  character  of  wood- 
engraving  came  about  through  the  use  of 
photography  in  transferring  the  design  to 
the  block.  This  brought  about  the  subordi- 
nation of  line  to  tone  and  texture,  giving 
results  not  unlike  line  engraving.  It  became 
a  reproductive  art.  Artists  were  employed 
in    reproducing   painting.      Timothy   Cole's 


40  ETCHING   AND 

beautiful  woodcuts  of  the  Old  Masters  in 
the  "Century"  are  examples.  At  present  a 
return  to  the  earlier  method  is  shown  in 
the  work  of  Lepere,  whose  woodcuts  are 
as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  his  etchings. 
The  influence  of  the  Japanese  is  seen  in  this 
revival. 

It  should  be  noted  that  woodcut  is  the 
opposite  of  engraving.  In  the  former  the 
lines  are  in  relief  as  the  space  between  is  cut 
away,  while  in  the  latter  the  lines  are  cut 
into  the  surface.  It  was  the  art  of  the  people 
until  superseded  by  "process."  The  woodcut 
can  be  printed  with  the  letterpress,  and  is 
therefore  a  cheap  method  of  reproduction. 
As  the  cut  would  wear  away  in  time,  an 
electrotype  is  made  which  can  be  renewed 
as  often  as  desired.  Different  values  are 
obtained  by  varying  the  width  of  the  lines. 
Boxwood  is  now  generally  used  for  the 
blocks,  and  is  cut  across  the  grain.  The 
woodcut  should  not  be  made  to  imitate  the 
line  engraving.    The  artist  should  work  from 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       41 

the  black  to  the  white,  showing  a  flat  black, 
white  lines  and  white  spaces,  with  no  cross 
hatching.  If  a  woodcut  is  made  in  the  cor- 
rect style,  it  cannot  be  copied  with  pen  and 
ink.  Colour  prints  are  made  with  a  separate 
block  for  each  colour,  and  one  is  printed  over 
the  other.  Japanese  colour  prints  are  fami- 
liar examples  of  this  method. 


42  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER    IV 
LITHOGRAPHY 

LITHOGRAPHY  (writing  on  stone) 
is  a  method  of  reproduction  by  which 
a  drawing  is  printed  from  the  surface 
of  a  slab  of  limestone.  Aluminum  or  zinc 
plates  are  sometimes  used.  The  process  was 
invented  by  Aloys  Senef elder  in  1796.  Sene- 
felder  was  born  at  Prague,  Bohemia,  on  JJo- 
vember  6, 1 77 1 .  It  was  while  living  in  Munich, 
making  a  precarious  livelihood  by  writing 
plays,  that  he  stumbled  upon  this  method  of 
getting  impressions  from  stone.  The  great 
cost  of  printing  his  plays  led  him  to  try 
reproducing  the  copy,  written  in  reverse,  on 
copper  by  the  etching  process.  He  could 
not  afford  a  separate  copper  for  every  page, 
and  so  was  compelled  to  repolish  the  plate 
after  each  printing.  The  great  amount  of 
labour  involved  in  this  caused  him  to  experi- 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS        43 

ment  with  a  fine-grained  limestone  much 
used  in  Munich  for  floor-paving.  His  first 
trials  were  not  very  successful.  The  neces- 
sity for  quickly  jotting  down  the  items  of  a 
washing  list  forced  him  one  day  to  use  a 
stone  and  some  ink  made  of  soap,  wax  and 
lampblack.  As  he  was  about  to  erase  this 
the  idea  came  to  him  to  try  to  get  an  impres- 
sion on  dampened  paper,  first  treating  the 
surface  of  the  stone  with  acid.  From  his  suc- 
cess in  making  prints  of  this  washing  list, 
he  worked  out  the  whole  process  of  lithog- 
raphy as  used  to-day. 

The  fact  that  grease  and  water  repel  each 
other  is  taken  advantage  of  in  lithographic 
printing.  The  calcareous  limestone  em- 
ployed has  an  equal  affinity  for  water  and 
grease.  A  drawing  is  made  on  this  stone  with 
a  greased  chalk  and  chemically  fixed  with  a 
weak  solution  of  nitric  acid.  After  this  the 
surface  is  moistened  and  gone  over  with  a 
roller  charged  with  greasy  ink  which  will 
adhere  only  where  the  lines  have  been  drawn. 


44  ETCHING   AND 

A  print  can  then  be  made  from  the  stone 
by  using  dampened  paper.  The  artist  now- 
adays seldom  works  directly  on  the  stone, 
but  makes  his  drawing  on  transfer  paper. 
This  drawing  is  transferred  to  the  stone  by 
the  printer  and  reproduced  in  the  usual  way. 
It  is  generally  conceded  that  this  method 
is  as  legitimate  as  working  directly  on  the 
stone,  and  it  is  naturally  much  more  con- 
venient. However,  some  artists  in  the  me- 
dium prefer  the  stone.  Lithographic  ink  is 
sometimes  employed  in  place  of  greased 
chalk.  The  stone  should  have  a  smooth 
surface  for  ink  work.  The  combination  of 
ink  and  chalk  gives  an  effect  that  might  be 
compared  to  Turner's  mezzotints  for  the 
Liber  Studiorum,  the  ink  corresponding  to 
the  etched  line.  Ink  may  also  be  used  as  a 
wash  and  stumping  may  be  employed  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  a  charcoal  drawing. 

Owing  to  the  facility  with  which  repro- 
ductions can  be  made,  lithography  is  exten- 
sively used  in  commercial  work.     In  recent 


•ao    ^ 

IS 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       45 

years  this  art  has  been  brought  back  to  its 
legitimate  sphere,  chiefly  through  the  work  of 
Whistler  and  of  Way  the  printer.  The  best 
traditions  of  the  art  are  being  conserved  by 
the  Senefelder  Club  of  London — a  club 
formed  for  "the  advancement  of  artistic 
lithography."  The  first  president  of  the 
club,  Mr.  Joseph  J.  Pennell,  is  a  distin- 
guished exponent  of  this  fascinating  art.  Al- 
most all  of  the  world's  supply  of  lithographic 
stone  comes  from  the  Solenhofen  quarries  in 
Bavaria.  There  are  some  good  French 
stones  on  the  market  also.  The  chalk  used 
in  drawing  is  composed  of  beeswax,  tallow, 
castile  soap,  shellac  and  Paris  black.  More 
wax  and  tallow  are  used  than  soap  and 
shellac.  The  black  is  added  that  the  work 
may  show.  It  is  put  up  in  convenient  sticks 
and  pencils  of  several  grades  of  hardness 
by  Korn,  of  Cedar  Street,  New  York.  The 
ink  for  drawing  on  the  stone  is  composed 
of  equal  portions  of  the  same  materials  as 
the  chalk.     It  comes  in  the  form  of  sticks, 


46  ETCHING   AND 

like  India  ink,  and  is  ground  in  the  same 
manner,  using  distilled  water.  It  is  put  on 
with  a  pen  or  brush.  The  ink  used  in  print- 
ing is  composed  of  Frankfort  black  and  lin- 
seed varnish.  A  lithographic  press  is  quite 
unlike  any  other  form  of  printing  press. 
The  impression  is  obtained  by  carrying  the 
stone  on  which  a  dampened  paper  has  been 
placed  on  a  movable  bed  under  a  bar  known 
as  a  scraper.  This  scraping  motion  is  en- 
tirely different  from  the  roller  motion  of  an 
etching  press.  The  possibilities  of  artistic 
printing  of  lithographs  are  being  much  de- 
veloped of  late,  and  many  methods  are  em- 
ployed to  vary  the  result.  The  number  of 
prints  possible  is  much  greater  than  from 
an  etched  plate.  The  work  fails  by  becom- 
ing blacker  until  it  finally  clogs  up  instead 
of  becoming  weaker  as  in  etching. 

As  compared  with  etchings,  lithographs 
lack  relief,  as  all  lines  show  equally  black. 
It  is  an  autographic  art  and  this  is  its  chief 
merit.     In  looking  at  a  lithograph  you  may 


RUE  BOUTEBREA,  PARIS 

Lithograph  with  Crayon  and  Ink  by 

GEORGE  T.  PLOWMAN 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       47 

note  white  lines  running  through  it.  These 
are  made  by  scraping  the  surface  of  the 
stone  with  the  point  of  a  sharp  knife.  Some 
artists  employ  the  knife  much  more  than 
others.  Of  late  colour  lithography  is  com- 
ing into  favour,  especially  in  Germany.  In 
this  method  there  is  a  separate  stone  for  each 
colour. 


48  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER    V 

LINE   ENGRAVING 

ENGRAVING  (gravure  en  taille- 
douce)  is  drawing  in  intaglio — i.e., 
with  incised  lines.  It  is  perhaps  the 
oldest  known  form  of  drawing,  for  even  the 
pre-historic  races  have  left  records  scratched 
on  the  surface  of  bone.  In  this  sense  Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphics  might  be  called  engraving. 
In  its  more  general  sense  it  covers  all  meth- 
ods of  drawing  by  incised  lines,  and  there- 
fore includes  etching  and  dry  point.  The 
restricted  and  more  common  use  of  the 
term  is  to  limit  it  to  a  design  cut  on  a  metal 
plate  with  an  instrument  called  a  burin,  the 
resulting  impression  constituting  a  line  en- 
graving. Vasari  relates  how  printing  from 
engraved  plates  was  discovered  about  1460 
by  Maso  da  Finiguerra,  a  Florentine  silver- 


OTHER    GRAPHIC    ARTS        49 

smith.  Having  filled  the  lines  of  a  plate  on 
which  he  was  engraving  some  ornaments  with 
lamp  black  and  oil,  the  more  readily  to  see 
his  work,  he  happened  to  lay  the  plate  face 
downward  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  thus 
produced  the  first  line  engraving.  The  Ger- 
mans, however,  practised  the  art  some  years 
before,  and  it  probably  originated  there.  So 
far  as  the  student  is  concerned,  engraving 
may  be  said  to  begin  with  Albrecht  Diirer. 

The  instrument  used  in  line  engraving  is 
the  burin,  a  steel  rod,  lozenge-shaped  in  sec- 
tion, sharpened  by  being  cut  obliquely  at  the 
end.  The  handle  is  shaped  to  fit  the  palm 
of  the  hand,  and  the  instrument,  held  be- 
tween the  thumb  and  second  finger,  is  used 
by  pushing  it  forward,  thus  cutting  a  clear, 
sharp  V-shaped  furrow  in  the  metal.  This 
furrow  may  vary  in  width  from  the  moment 
the  point  digs  into  the  metal  until  it  leaves. 
It  is  a  most  laborious  method,  and  the  result- 
ing line  is  naturally  more  formal  than  the 
etched  line.    It  is  this  absence  of  spontaneity, 


50  ETCHING   AND 

together  with  the  varying  thickness  of  the 
line,  which  distinguishes  line  engraving  from 
etching.  The  burin  leaves  very  little  burr,  as 
the  metal  forced  above  the  surface  of  the 
copper  by  the  instrument  is  called,  since  most 
of  the  metal  comes  up  as  a  shaving.  This 
burr  is  removed  with  a  scraper.  All  en- 
graving is  based  on  the  line,  and  as  there 
are  no  lines  in  nature,  artistic  convention 
plays  a  most  important  part,  tones  and  tex- 
tures being  translated  by  the  line. 

Stipple  engraving  is  a  form  of  engraving 
where  dots  are  employed  instead  of  lines;  it 
if  often  used  in  parts  of  line  engravings. 
To  save  labour  engravers  sometimes  bite 
their  lines  in  with  acid,  afterward  going 
over  them  with  the  burin.  Line  engraving 
is  chiefly  employed  in  translating  painting 
into  black  and  white;  that  is,  the  colour  and 
tones  of  the  painting  are  interpreted  by  the 
lines  on  the  plate.  It  is  practically  a  lost 
art  to-day.  Some  confusion  may  occur 
through  the  misuse  of  the  term  "steel  en- 


PORTRAIT  OF 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

AFTER  STUART 

Steel  Engraving  by 

HALPIN 


OTHER    GRAPHIC    ARTS        51 

graving/*  As  used  nowadays,  "steel  engrav- 
ing" is  nearly  always  a  misnomer.  All  work 
previous  to  1820  was  on  copper,  when  steel 
plates  were  first  used  to  enable  the  printer 
to  get  more  impressions  from  the  harder 
metal.  However,  since  the  invention  of  steel 
facing  of  copper,  steel  is  seldom  used  on 
account  of  the  difficulties  in  its  manipulation. 
We  are  all  collectors,  more  or  less,  of  mod- 
ern steel  engravings,  as  American  bank-notes 
are  engraved  on  steel.  They  are  the  only 
real  "steel  engravings"  of  the  present  day. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  printing  used  in 
the  graphic  arts — relief  printing,  surface 
printing,  and  intaglio  printing.  In  relief 
printing  the  ink  is  taken  from  a  raised  sur- 
face, as  exemplified  in  woodcuts,  wood-en- 
graving and  process.  In  surface  printing, 
the  ink  is  transferred  to  the  paper  from  a 
flat  surface,  as  in  lithography.  In  intaglio 
printing  the  ink  is  taken  by  great  pressure 
from  below  the  surface  of  the  plate,  as  in 
line  engraving  and  etching.    In  relief  print- 


52  ETCHING   AND 

ing  the  process  is  a  flat  squeeze,  in  surface 
printing  it  is  a  scraping  motion,  and  in  in- 
taglio it  is  a  roller  motion. 


I 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS        53 


CHAPTER    VI 

ETCHING 

"//  you  cannot  sketch  you  cannot  etch." — Hamerton. 

ETCHING  (from  the  Dutch  "etsen," 
to  eat)  is  a  form  of  engraving  where 
the  lines  are  bitten  into  the  metal  plate 
with  acid.  An  etching  is  a  print  made  from 
1  plate  in  which  the  design  has  been  bitten 
with  acid.  Usage  includes  dry  point  with 
etching,  although  no  acid  is  employed,  the 
iesign  being  cut  into  the  plate  with  sharp 
5teel  needles.  In  section  the  bitten  line  is 
U-shaped,  while  the  dry  point  and  engraved 
ines  are  V-shaped.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
iven  cultured  people  to  use  the  word  etch- 
ng  when  they  refer  to  pen  drawing. 

The  etched  line  is  characterised  by  great 
'reedom,  the  steel  point  gliding  with  ease 
n  all  directions  over  the  metal  plate.    Etch- 


54  ETCHING   AND 

ing  is  the  only  form  of  engraving  in  which 
an  artist  can  sketch.  The  technique  of  etch- 
ing is  quite  different  from  that  of  pen  or 
pencil.  The  vigour  and  delicacy  possible  in 
the  biting  serve  to  differentiate  this  art.  The 
artist  who  draws  on  copper  just  as  he  would 
draw  with  the  pen  or  pencil  does  not  under- 
stand the  medium  and  will  be  disappointed 
in  the  result.  The  artist  who  draws  on 
the  copper  and  does  not  himself  bite  the 
plate  with  the  acid  is  not  an  etcher.  This 
should  also  be  true  to  a  less  degree  with  re- 
gard to  the  printing.  The  true  etcher  draws, 
bites  and  prints  the  plate  himself. 

Briefly,  the  methods  employed  in  making 
an  etching  are  as  follows:  a  polished  copper 
plate  is  covered  with  a  kind  of  varnish  called 
an  etching  ground.  The  ground  is  smoked 
with  wax  tapers  to  assist  the  artist  in  seeing 
his  work.  On  this  he  draws  his  design, 
employing  a  steel  needle  which  cuts  through 
the  varnish  and  exposes  the  copper.  The 
plate  is  then  covered  on  the  back  and  edges 


in.*. 


K  sg  ^  H  w 

U    S  «  ^  BS 

5    S  "^  K  ft- 

"    I  "  '^  ^• 

z  <  ^ 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS        55 

with  some  varnish  impervious  to  acid  and 

immersed  in  an  acid  bath.     The  acid  will 

attack  the  copper  only  where  the  artist  has 

ij  drawn  with  the  needle.    When  the  acid  has 

[j  sufficiently  eaten  the  lines  of  the  distance  or 

the  lightest  part,  the  plate  is  removed  from 

the  bath   and  washed  in  water.     A  brush 

I  charged  with  stopping-out  varnish  is  used  to 

cover  over  these  lines.     The  plate  is  again 

put  into  the  acid,  which  again  attacks  all  the 
) 
tremammg  Imes.    This  stoppmg  out,  as  it  is 

[called,  is  repeated  until  all  parts  are  bitten 

i:to  the  required  depth.    The  ground  is  then 

jlremoved  with  turpentine  and  a  trial  proof 

(taken  on  an  etching  press. 

{    The  artist  has  many  ways  of  correcting 

ijhis  work,   should   this   print,   as   is   usually 

f|the    case,    prove    unsatisfactory.      Another 

^ [ground  can  be  put  on,  new  work  added,  and 

>|the  plate  bitten   as  before.     The  lines   al- 

j ready  on  the  plate  can  be  enlarged  by  put- 

iting  on  a  rebiting  ground,  which  covers  the 

surface   of   the   plate   but   leaves   the   lines 


56  ETCHING   AND 

exposed.  Lines  which  are  too  deep  can  bci 
reduced  by  using  a  tool  called  a  burnisher 
or  by  a  scraper.  Or  charcoal  may  be  em- 
ployed to  bring  down  the  surface  of  the 
plate  by  rubbing,  thus  making  the  lines  shal- 
low. In  etching  it  is  more  possible  to  make 
sweeping  changes  and  still  retain  the  fresh- 
ness of  the  work  than  it  is  in  pen  or  pencil. 
A  whole  foreground  is  sometimes  scraped 
out,  the  copper  pounded  up  from  the  back, 
and  new  work  added.  As  Sir  Frank  Short 
puts  it,  "While  there  is  copper  there  is  hope." 
The  press  used  in  printing  etchings  is  not 
unlike  an  ordinary  washing  mangle.  The 
rollers  are  usually  of  steel  and  between  them 
is  a  movable  metal  plank  on  which  the  plate 
is  placed.  The  warmed  plate  is  first  covered 
with  ink,  which  is  then  carefully  wiped  off 
the  surface,  leaving  the  lines  full.  Sometimes 
a  thin  film  of  ink  is  left  on  the  surface  of 
the  plate  as  well.  To  get  a  richer  print  the 
plate  is  again  warmed  and  a  soft  rag  flicked 
across   the   lines,   pulling  some   of   the   ink 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       57 

over  their  edges.  This  is  called  retroussage, 
or  stumping.  A  dampened  piece  of  etching 
paper  is  then  placed  over  the  inked  plate, 
and  it  is  passed  between  the  steel  rollers  un- 
der a  heavy  pressure.  Several  thicknesses 
of  blanketing  are  placed  between  the  rollers 
to  equalise  this  pressure,  which  is  so  great 
that  the  edges  of  the  plate  make  a  distinct 
mark  on  the  paper,  and  the  ink  from  the 
darkest  lines  is  moulded  in  relief.  This  relief 
in  the  dark  lines  can  be  felt  by  passing  the 
fingers  lightly  over  an  etching.  The  plate 
mark  and  the  relief  help  to  distinguish  in- 
taglio printing.  The  absence  of  the  plate 
mark  in  old  prints  is  not  a  proof  that  they 
are  not  etchings  because  the  paper  may  have 
been  cut  in  the  margin  between  the  plate 
mark  and  the  edge  of  the  etched  work.  Al- 
most all  old  etchings  had  these  margins,  and 
they  were  sometimes  quite  wide. 

Printing  of  etchings  is  unlike  the  printing 
of  other  forms  of  black  and  white  work  in 
that  it  is  an  important  part  of  the  process 


58  ETCHING   AND 

of  attaining  the  desired  result.  Pen-and-ink 
reproductions  by  the  process  block,  or  half- 
tone method,  go  through  the  press  with  very 
little  more  care  than  type,  but  in  etching 
the  printing  is  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  im- 
portant as  the  drawing  and  the  biting.  A 
good  etching  is  a  combination  of  a  successful 
drawing,  a  successful  biting  and  a  successful 
printing.  If  the  etcher  delegates  the  print- 
ing to  another,  he  should  be  sure  that  he  is 
placing  his  plate  in  experienced  hands,  and 
in  addition  should  give  his  personal  super- 
vision to  the  prints;  at  least  until  one  comes 
to  his  satisfaction  which  can  serve  as  a  guide 
for  future  impressions.  The  result  may  be 
varied  in  many  ways.  The  kind  of  ink,  the 
way  it  is  put  on,  the  different  papers,  and  the 
printing  in  the  press  all  have  their  influence. 
From  the  beginning  one  should  have  in  mind 
the  kind  of  printing  to  be  employed. 

"Is  this  an  original  or  a  copy?"  is  a  com- 
mon question.  Every  impression  made  from 
a  copper  plate  is  an  original  print.    In  etch- 


From  a  print  in  the  twssession  of  George  T.  Plowman 


AN  ETCHING 

By 

MAXIME  LALANNE 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       59 

ing,  a  design  can  be  duplicated  and  still  be 
an  original.  There  are  no  copies  in  the 
usual  sense  of  the  word.  The  copper  plate 
is  merely  a  means  to  an  end,  and  is  of  no 
value  in  itself.  It  is  destroyed  as  soon  as  it 
shows  signs  of  wear.  A  trial  proof  is  a 
print  made  before  an  etching  is  finished  to 
prove  or  try  the  condition  of  the  plate. 
There  may  be  a  number  of  these,  but  none 
are  signed  by  the  artist  until  the  plate  is 
finished  to  his  satisfaction.  An  artist's  proof 
is  a  print  signed  by  the  artist,  and  therefore 
satisfactory  to  him.  The  prints  not  signed 
by  the  artist  may  not  be  made  under  his  su- 
pervision, and  are  likely  to  be  poor.  They 
are  always  of  less  value  than  artist's  proofs. 
The  "Remarque,"  which  is  a  characteristic 
of  some  of  the  old  work,  is  not  possible  in 
most  modern  work  because  the  margin  on 
which  these  little  sketches  were  drawn  does 
not  exist,  the  artist  working  up  to  the  edge 
of  the  plate.  Proofs  before  and  after  letter- 
ing are  also  terms  which  seldom  have  a  sig- 


60  ETCHING   AND 

nificance  now.  No  two  proofs  are  or  should 
be'  exactly  alike.  The  great  musician  does 
not  interpret  the  work  of  the  master  exactly 
the  same  each  time.  He  has  an  ideal  toward 
which  he  strives.  In  the  same  way  the  artist 
printer  manipulates  his  materials  to  bring 
about  that  most  elusive  result — a  perfect 
print. 

The  number  of  prints  made  from  a  plate 
depends  on  many  things.  A  deeply  bitten 
plate  will  yield  more  good  impressions  than 
a  delicate  one.  Much  dry  point  will  cut 
down  the  number  of  good  proofs  obtainable. 
Dry  points  with  the  burr  on  print  only  a 
few  satisfactory  proofs  because  the  projecting 
burr  soon  breaks  down  under  the  pressure  of 
the  press.  The  number,  therefore,  varies 
from  eight  to  ten  prints  in  delicate  dry 
points  to  fifty,  one  hundred  or  more  in  strong 
work.  By  employing  steel  facing  the  num- 
ber of  prints  is  materially  increased.  This 
is  a  process  for  depositing  a  thin  film  of  steel 
by  electrolysis  over  the  surface  of  the  copper. 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       61 

Copper  thus  protected  will  give  many  more 
proofs  without  wear.    Should  the  steel  facing 

I  wear  away  in  some  parts  it  can  all  be  re- 
moved by  a  moment's  immersion  in  a  weak 
solution  of  nitric  acid  and  another  put  on. 
The  plate  prints  the  same  when  steeled  as 
before.  Steel  plates  should  be  protected  from 
rusting  by  a  coating  of  beeswax.  Sir  Sey- 
mour Haden's  qualifications  for  a  printer 
of  etchings  are:  "A  finely  organised  man 
with  the  palm  of  a  duchess."  The  two  great- 
est printers  were  Delatre  in  France  and 
Goulding  in  England. 

Should  the  artist  decide,  after  making  a 
number  of  prints,  to  change  the  work  in  any 
way — for  example,  by  taking  out  or  adding 

I  another  figure — the  prints  made  after  this 
change  become  another  "state  of  the  plate." 
With  some  artists  there  are  innumerable 
states,  with  others  very  few.  Naturally  the 
fewer  prints  there  are  for  a  given  state  the 
more  valuable  they  are  to  the  collector. 
However,  an  early  state  is  not  necessarily 


62  ETCHING   AND 

the  best,  because  the  changes  made  are  in- 
tended to  and  usually  do  improve  the  work. 
Provided  there  have  not  been  too  many  im- 
pressions made,  and  the  plate  is  therefore 
in  a  good  condition,  the  later  "states"  may 
be  better  than  the  earlier. 

To  tell  much  in  as  few  lines  as  possible  is 
the  ideal  of  etching.  Rembrandt  and  Whis- 
tler should  be  studied  for  their  masterly 
suggestion,  and  for  their  omission  of  non- 
essentials, leaving  much  to  the  imagination. 
The  pleasure  of  etching  lies  in  this  sugges- 
tion which  appeals  to  the  intelligence  of  the 
beholder.  Ruskin,  who  did  not  understand 
etching,  called  it  the  "art  of  scratch."  On 
the  contrary,  each  line  should  be  considered 
and  nothing  left  to  chance.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  etching,  reproductive  and  original. 
In  reproductive  etching  the  work  of  the 
painter  is  translated  into  etching.  In  orig- 
inal etching  the  artist  translates  nature  di- 
rectly, and  he  is  then  known  as  a  painter- 
etcher. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       63 

The  following  are  some  of  the  difficulties 
which  etchers  have  to  contend  with :  A  nega- 
tive process  is  always  more  difficult  than  a 
positive,  the  drawing  showing  light  golden 
lines  on  a  black  ground.  All  line  work  must 
be  done  with  a  view  to  the  future  action  of 
the  acid  and  of  the  printing.  The  require- 
ment of  even  pressure  in  all  passages  is  an- 
other difficulty.  The  biting  is  very  uncertain. 
One  never  knows  surely  what  the  acid  has 
done  until  a  proof  is  made.  "Etching  is 
always  a  chemical  experiment."  While  it 
may  be  true  that  you  can  learn  all  there  is 
to  be  learned  about  the  technique  in  a  half 
day,  as  I  have  been  informed  by  a  distin- 
guished artist,  it  is  possibly  wise  for  ordi- 
nary mortals  to  take  a  bit  more  time  in 
learning  the  "teasing"  art.  The  possibilities 
of  the  medium  are  not  fully  realised  until 
you  know  your  copper,  and  that  is  a  matter 
of  years.  To  quote  Hamerton:  "You  will 
have  many  a  hard  battle,  many  an  hour  of 
mortification,  but  let  me  tell  you  that  all 


64  ETCHING   AND 

good  etchers  have  passed  through  these  or- 
deals and  been  dirty  with  charcoal  and  oil 
and  printing  ink,  and  burnt  their  skin  with 
acid,  and  spent  hours  and  days  in  rubbing 
and  scraping  and  correcting,  often  with  no 
immediate  result  except  utter  disappoint- 
ment." 


.S   3 
o  es 

Oh      ^ 


*.: 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       65 


CHAPTER    VH 
DRY-POINT,   SOFT  GROUND,  ETC. 

DRY-POINT  (pointe-seche)  is  a  meth- 
od of  engraving  on  copper  with  a 
hard  and  very  sharp  steel  point.  Al- 
though it  is  a  misnomer  to  call  it  etching,  as 
no  acid  is  employed,  yet  custom  sanctions 
the  use  of  the  word.  In  etching,  the  copper 
is  dissolved  to  make  the  line;  in  dry-point 
it  is  dug  out.  The  steel  point  in  cutting 
the  copper  turns  up  a  furrow  known  as  the 
burr.  If  this  is  left  on  it  catches  the  ink 
and  gives  that  velvety  richness  and  softness 
which  we  associate  with  dry-point.  The  burr 
may  be  partly  cut  off  with  a  sharp  scraper, 
or  it  may  be  entirely  removed,  as  is  gener- 
ally the  case  when  dry-point  is  used  in  con- 
nection with  etching. 

Dry-point   needles    are   usually   made   of 
extra  hard  steel   and  are  of  varying  sizes. 


66  ETCHING   AND 

The  needle  should  have  a  shorter  cone  than 
the  etching  needle  and  a  sharp  point.  Dia- 
monds are  often  used  in  dry-point,  their 
great  advantage  lying  in  their  always  being 
sharp.  However,  they  have  this  objection, 
that  they  are  brittle,  and  should  not  be  used 
in  the  heavier  passages.  The  dry-point 
needle  can  make  very  faint  lines,  and  it  is 
therefore  good  for  putting  in  the  delicate 
lines  of  sky.  Light  dry-point  lines  harmonise 
well  with  etched  lines,  whereas  deep  ones 
do  not.  It  is  wise  therefore  to  add  dry- 
point  only  in  the  distant  or  the  lighter  parts 
of  an  etching.  Much  dry-point  added  to  an 
etching  decreases  materially  the  number  of 
satisfactory  prints.  The  needle  when  held 
upright  throws  up  an  equal  burr  on  both 
sides  of  the  line.  When  held  slanting  it 
throws  up  a  much  heavier  burr  for  a  given 
pressure,  and  so  is  more  effective.  To  see 
your  work,  rub  some  lampblack  mixed  with 
oil  into  the  lines  and  wipe  off  with  a  rag. 
Dry-point  is  much  simpler  than  etching 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       67 

proper,  as  the  uncertainty  of  the  biting  with 
acid  is  avoided  and  the  work  can  be  easily 
seen.  The  play  of  the  needle  on  the  plate 
is  less  free  in  this  method  than  in  etching, 
on  account  of  the  pressure  required  to  cut 
into  the  copper.  To  sum  up,  the  distinctive 
characteristics  of  dry-point  are:  velvety  rich- 
ness and  softness  of  line,  arising  from  the 
action  of  the  ink  on  the  burr,  and  lack  of 
perfect  freedom  in  the  line,  owing  to  the 
resistance  of  the  copper  to  the  point. 

Sir  Seymour  Haden  discovered  that  Rem- 
brandt's etchings  could  be  divided  into  three 
periods  of  about  ten  years  each — the  first 
period,  pure  etching;  second  period,  etching 
mixed  with  dry-point;  third  period,  pure 
dry-point. 

Soft  Ground. — This  is  a  method  of  draw- 
ing on  a  plate  with  a  lead  pencil.  The 
ordinary  etching  ground  mixed  with  tallow 
to  soften  it  is  put  on  the  plate  in  the  usual 
way.  A  sheet  of  grained  tissue  paper  is 
stretched  over  this  ground.     The  design  is 


68  ETCHING   AND 

then  drawn  on  the  tissue  with  a  pencil.  When 
the  paper  is  removed,  it  will  be  found  that 
the  ground  has  adhered  to  the  paper  wher- 
ever the  pencil  has  been.  The  lines  thus 
left  on  the  copper  are  bitten  in  the  usual 
way.  The  resulting  print  resembles  a  soft 
pencil  drawing  or  a  lithograph. 

Aquatint  is  engraving  with  tones  instead  of 
lines.  A  plate  is  covered  with  finely  pow- 
dered resin  and  the  tones  are  produced  by  the 
stopping  out  method.  Sand  grain  is  a  kind 
of  aquatint  where  the  grain  is  produced  by 
running  a  plate,  covered  with  an  ordinary 
ground  and  on  which  a  piece  of  sand  paper 
has  been  placed,  through  an  etching  press. 

Mezzotint  is  a  means  of  engraving  in  tone. 
It  has  been  much  used  for  the  reproduction 
of  painting.  Neither  lines  nor  acid  are  em- 
ployed. A  copper  plate  is  uniformly  rough- 
ened by  going  over  it  in  many  different  direc- 
tions with  a  toothed  instrument  called  a  rock- 
er. A  rocked  plate  would  print  a  uniform 
black.    A  steel  tool  called  a  mezzotint  scraper 


Permission  of  Berlin  Photographic  Co 


THE  DARK  TOWER 

Aquatint  in  Color  by 

VOJTEGH  PREISSIG 


i 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       69 

is  used  to  reduce  the  roughness  and  get  the 
various  tones,  working  from  the  dark  to  the 
light.  An  outline  of  the  organic  parts  of  the 
design  is  sometimes  rather  deeply  bitten  on  the 
plate  before  rocking.  Most  interesting  exam- 
ples of  this  are  Turner's  beautiful  outlines  for 
the  plates  of  the  Liber  Studiorum.  Mezzo- 
tint is  much  richer  than  charcoal  drawing, 
which  it  somewhat  resembles.  On  account  of 
the  burr  in  mezzotints,  it  is  only  possible  to 
get  a  comparatively  few  good  impressions; 
twenty  or  thirty  are  all  that  are  usually 
printed  without  steel  facing. 

Monotype. — If  a  picture  is  painted  on  a 
polished  copper  plate  and  the  plate,  covered 
with  a  dampened  piece  of  etching  paper,  is 
run  through  an  etching  press,  or  even  through 
an  ordinary  washing  mangle,  the  resulting 
impression  is  known  as  a  monotype.  In 
theory  only  one  print  can  be  taken,  but  in 
practise  a  second  or  even  a  third  are  often 
more  interesting  than  the  first.  Some  amus- 
ing results  are  attained,  but  it  is  not  a  method 


70  ETCHING.  AND 

to  employ  for  serious  work.  It  is  an  artistic 
plaything  and  the  effects  are  accidental. 
Colour  may  be  used,  but  more  often  the  draw- 
ing is  made  with  black  ink. 

Glass  Prints. — This  is  another  process  with 
which  artists  have  amused  themselves.  A 
sheet  of  glass  is  covered  with  an  opaque  var- 
nish on  which  a  drawing  is  made  with  an 
etching  needle.  A  print  can  be  made  by  ex- 
posing sensitized  paper  to  the  light  behind 
this  plate — the  Barbizon  painters  made  many 
glass  prints.  Neither  glass  prints  nor  mono- 
types are  in  any  sense  engravings  or  etchings. 


^  ««  Z  a 

O  S    ^ 

N  ^ 

N  C 

W  Z 


\ 


PART  TWO 


GRAPHIC   ARTS 


73 


CHAPTER   Vin 
LIST  OF   MATERIALS   FOR   ETCHING 


Plate 

File 

Vise,  with  handle 

Turpentine 

Whiting  (Blanc  d'Espagne) 

Ammonia 

Dabber 

Ball  of  Etching  ground 

Wax  tapers  (Rat  de  cave) 

Etching  needles 

Varnish  for  back  of  plate 

Tray  for  acid 

Acid 

Blotting  paper 

Stopping-out  varnish 

Water-colour  brushes 


Scraper 
Burnisher 
Olive  Oil 
Charcoal 

Dry-Point  Needles 
Oil  Rubber 
Graver  or  Burin 
Roller 

Chamois  skin 
Oil  Stone 
Snake  Stone 
Emery  Paper 
Lamp  Black 
Anvil 
Hammer 
Callipers. 


I 


N  addition  one  should  be  provided  with 
feathers,    running    water    if    possible, 
means    of    heating    and    clean    cotton 
rags. 

The  Plate  as  it  comes  to  the  etcher  is  pol- 
ished but  needs  to  be  bevelled  on  the  edges  and 


74  ETCHING   AND 

corners  so  that  it  will  not  cut  the  paper  when 
printing.  Use  i8-gauge  American  etching 
copper  for  ordinary  work.  For  mezzotints 
or  large  etchings  use  i6  gauge.  English  cop- 
per is  preferred  by  some  and  may  be  had  in 
New  York.  Old  hand-hammered  copper  is 
desirable  but  very  difficult  to  procure.  Zinc 
plates  are  much  cheaper  than  copper.  They 
require  a  different  proportion  in  the  acid. 
The  beginner  would  do  well  to  use  copper. 

The  File  is  used  to  bevel  the  edges  and  cor- 
ners of  the  plate. 

The  Vise  should  have  a  wooden  handle  and 
one  of  the  jaws  should  be  covered  with  a  piece 
of  an  old  kid  glove  to  protect  the  surface  of 
the  plate. 

Turpentine  is  used  to  clean  the  plate  and 
for  removing  the  ground  after  the  biting  is 
finished. 

Whiting  softened  with  Ammonia  is  rubbed 
over  the  plate  with  printing  muslin  for  fur- 
ther cleaning.  Electro  Silicon  or  Gilder's 
Whitening  are  good  for  this  purpose.    If  the 


;      ? 


Safe" 
u        t«     . 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS        75 

plate  is  tarnished  vinegar  and  salt  are  some- 
times used. 
The  Dabber  is  easily  made  as  follows :  Cut 

•  a  disk  of  stiff  cardboard  about  three  inches  in 
diameter.  Lay  a  piece  of  silk,  twelve  inches 
across,  flat  on  a  table.  On  this,  make  a  pile 
of  cotton  wool  and  horse-hair,  on  top  of  which 
place  the  cardboard.  Draw  up  the  silk 
around  the  disk  and  tie  with  a  string.  Cut  off 
the  ends  of  the  silk,  leaving  enough  for  a 
handle.  Sometimes  fine  kid  or  chamois  skin 
is  used  instead  of  the  silk. 

JP  Etching  Ground. — A  good  etching  ground 
should  resist  the  action  of  the  acid  perfectly. 
It  should  adhere  to  the  plate  so  well  that  it 
will  hold  up  even  when  a  small  amount  is  left 
between  closely  drawn  lines.  The  lines 
should  be  clear  cut  with  perfect  edges.  The 
ground  should  not  be  so  hard  that  the  needle 
will  not  expose  the  copper  under  ordinary 
pressure.  In  other  words,  the  ground  should 
be  so  good  that  the  etcher  need  not  give  it  a 
thought. 


76  ETCHING   AND 


COMPOSITION   OF   ETCHING  GROUND 


Bees-wax  (pure)    2^  ounces 

Syrian  Asphaltum 2  " 

Burgundy  pitch J/2     ounce 

Black  pitch J^ 

GROUND   KNOWN   AS    REMBRANDT'S 

White  Wax 30  grains 

Gum  Mastic 15       " 

Asphaltum  or  Amber 15       " 

BOSSE'S  GROUND  AS  USED  BY  HAMERTON 

Bees-wax  (pure)    5       ounces 

Gum  Mastic 3  " 

Bitumen  (in  powder)    1 J4       " 

This  ground  is  used  for  the  Dutch  mordant. 

MODIFICATION  OF  BOSSE'S  GROUND  USED 
BY  PATON  FOR  NITRIC  BATH 

Bees-wax  (pure)    3  ounces 

Gum  Mastic 1  ounce 

Burgundy  pitch   1  " 

Bitumen  (in  powder)    1  " 

Increase  the  amount  of  Asphaltum  in  the 
Rembrandt  Ground  to  30  grains  for  summer 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS        77 

ise.  Some  etchers  add  a  small  ball  of  con- 
:entrated  solution  of  rubber  to  the  above 
formulas. 

Making  Etching  Ground  from  formula 
given  first. — First  powder  the  pitch  and  the 
asphaltum.  The  black  pitch  is  added  for 
colour  only.  If  this  is  omitted,  twice  as  much 
Burgundy  pitch  must  be  used.  Put  the  bees- 
wax into  a  glazed  double  boiler  and  melt  over 
a  slow  fire.  Add  the  Syrian  asphaltum  and 
stir  with  a  glass  rod.  Next  add  the  pitch, 
making  sure  that  each  ingredient  is  melted 
before  the  next  is  added.  Take  the  pot  off 
the  fire  when  putting  in  asphaltum,  as  it  is 
liable  to  ignite.  A  good  plan  is  to  keep  at 
hand  a  copper  plate  larger  than  the  dish  to 
put  over  the  boiler  in  case  the  asphaltum  does 
catch  on  fire. 

Let  the  mixture  simmer  for  fifteen  minutes 
stirring  all  the  time.  Pour  into  a  pail  of 
warm  water  and  when  cool  enough  form  into 
balls  squeezing  out  the  water.  Cover  with  a 
bit  of  silk  cloth  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 


78  ETCHING   AND 

Wax  Tapers. — A  twisted  bundle  of  wax 
tapers,  known  as  the  "Rat  de  Cave,"  is  used 
for  smoking  the  plate.  These  may  be  had 
of  any  dealer  in  Etching  supplies. 

Etching  Needles  are  usually  made  with 
wooden  handles.  Sometimes  the  handle  is 
adjustable  so  that  a  number  of  points  of  dif- 
ferent sizes  can  be  set  in  as  required.  The 
disadvantage  of  these  is  that  they  may  work 
loose  in  time.  Good  etching  needles  are  also 
made  of  one  piece  of  steel.  The  extra  weight 
helps  in  cutting  through  the  ground.  Needles 
sharpened  at  both  ends  are  to  be  avoided  as 
they  are  somewhat  dangerous  if  carelessly 
used.  Large  sewing  or  darning  needles  make 
good  etching  points,  provided  a  firm  wooden 
handle  can  be  devised.  I  have  a  number  of 
very  successful  etching  needles  made  from 
broken  dental  tools.  An  etching  needle 
should  be  sharpened  to  a  conical  point  slightly 
blunted.  It  should  not  scratch  the  copper 
but  go  equally  well  in  all  directions,  gliding 
on  the  copper  and  not  digging  into  it.      To 


OTHER    GRAPHIC    ARTS        79 

sharpen  the  needle,  place  it  between  the 
palms  of  the  hands  and  holding  the  point  at 
an  angle  on  the  oilstone  rub  the  hands  to- 
gether. Describe  circles  of  varying  sizes  on 
a  sheet  of  cardboard  to  polish  the  point.  Do 
this  until  the  point  will  glide  on  the  thumb- 
nail without  catching. 

Dry-Point  Needles  are  the  same  shape  as 
etching  needles,  but  are  of  much  harder  steel. 
They  are  made  very  sharp  for  cutting  the 
copper. 

Asphaltum  Varnish  or  French  Polish  is 
used  for  painting  over  the  back  and  sides  of 
the  plate  to  protect  it  from  the  acid. 

The  Tray  for  Acid  can  be  of  porcelain, 
enamel  ware,  or  any  flat-bottomed  dish  that  is 
impervious  to  acid.  In  Paris,  trays  of  papier- 
mache,  covered  with  many  coats  of  Brunswick 
Black,  are  to  be  had.  They  are  liable  to  leak, 
as  I  have  found  to  my  sorrow. 

Acid. — The  principal  acids  used  in  etching 
are  nitric,  hydrochloric  and  perchloride  of 
iron.    All  acids  should  be  kept  in  bottles,  with 


80  ETCHING   AND 

ground  glass  stoppers,  in  a  safe  place.  Work 
before  an  open  window  when  using  nitric  acid 
as  the  gas  given  off  is  injurious  to  the  throat 
and  eyes.  Acid  will  turn  the  clothing  or  the 
skin  a  bright  yellow.  Some  etchers  add  a 
small  piece  of  sal-ammoniac  to  the  bath  be- 
fore biting,  to  make  it  work  more  smoothly. 
Use  a  piece  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  to  a  pint 
of  acid.  The  colour  of  the  acid  is  clear  and 
slightly  yellow  until  the  copper  is  laid  in  it, 
when  it  becomes  green.  For  copper,  the  pro- 
portion is  three  parts  of  pure  nitric  acid  of  a 
specific  gravity  of  1.42  and  5  parts  of  water. 
Many  use  distilled  water.  For  zinc  or  steel 
one  part  of  acid  to  seven  parts  of  water  should 
be  used.  Never  use  the  same  acid  for  zinc 
and  copper. 

In  mixing,  always  remember  to  add  the 
acid  to  the  water.  It  is  dangerous  to  pour 
water  into  acid.  As  the  chemical  action  gen- 
erates heat  the  mixture  should  be  allowed  to 
stand  for  several  hours.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
put  a  strip  of  copper  or  a  copper  coin  into 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       81 

the  acid  before  using.  This  makes  it  work 
better.  Always  have  beside  the  bath  a  basin 
of  clean  water  to  wash  the  plate  in  and  also 
to  wash  off  any  acid  from  the  fingers.  Have 
a  bottle  of  ammonia  handy,  in  case  acid  gets 
on  the  clothes.  Be  sure  to  get  nitric  and  not 
nitrous  acid,  for  the  fumes  from  the  latter 
are  much  more  disagreeable,  and,  as  the  acid 
is  not  as  strong  as  nitric,  the  proportions 
given  will  not  hold.  Sir  Frank  Short  uses 
acetic  acid  instead  of  water  in  the  nitric  bath. 

DUTCH    BATH 
The  Formula  for  Dutch  Bath  is : 

Hydrochloric  acid 10  parts  by  weight 

Chlorate  of  Potash 2     "      "       " 

Water   88     "      "       " 

Take  half  of  the  water  hot  and  dissolve  the 
potash.  When  cold  add  remainder  of  water 
and  hydrochloric  acid.  The  chemical  action 
will  heat  the  mixture  again.  The  propor- 
tions of  the  Dutch  bath  may  be  varied. 


82  ETCHING   AND 

Smillie  used: 


Muriatic  acid 1       ounce 

Chlorate  of  Potash \ 

Water 5       ounces 


The  Dutch  Bath  is  useful  for  starting  a 
plate  as  it  attacks  all  the  lines  evenly,  whereas 
nitric  acid  sometimes  plays  tricks  by  starting 
some  lines  before  others.  With  some  plates 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  bite  the  distance  in  the 
Dutch  and  the  remainder  in  the  nitric.  When 
you  are  doing  the  whole  plate  in  the  Dutch, 
it  is  a  good  idea  to  give  it  one  bubbling  all 
over  in  the  nitric  before  removing  ground. 
For  extremely  fine,  close  and  delicate  work 
use  the  Dutch  bath  cold.  This  bath  is  very 
slow  in  action  compared  with  the  nitric  and 
bites  deeper  into  the  plate  for  a  given  width 
of  surface.  The  bath  should  be  heated  to 
from  70°  to  90°.  The  usual  temperature  is 
about  80°.  Use  a  thermometer  to  keep  the 
same  degree  as  the  rate  of  biting  varies  with 
the  temperature. 

The  above  is  the  mordant  used  for  working 


OTHER    GRAPHIC    ARTS        83 

directly  in  the  bath.  When  employing  this 
method,  begin  by  drawing  the  lines  of  your 
subject  which  are  to  be  the  darkest  and  work 
toward  the  light.  It  is  more  difficult  to  see 
the  work  than  with  nitric  because  the  Dutch 
turns  the  lines  nearly  as  black  as  the  ground. 
A  time-gauge  can  be  made  in  the  following 
manner:  A  strip  of  copper  having  on  it  a 
series  of  lines  can  be  bitten  J4,  i,  2,  5,  10,  15, 
20,  30,  40,  and  60  minutes  to  use  as  a  guide, 
noting  the  temperature  and  employing  the 
same  when  biting  the  plate.  One  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  Dutch  bath  is  that  no  unpleas- 
ant and  injurious  fumes  are  given  off. 

Perchloride  of  Iron  is  used  pure  as  a  mor- 
dant. When  the  plate  is  taken  from  this  bath 
it  should  be  washed  in  water  and  then  in  a 
weak  solution  of  nitric  acid.  Wash  again  in 
water  before  putting  back  in  the  perchloride. 
This  method  will  give  the  best  results.  One 
of  the  advantages  of  this  acid  is  that  there  are 
no  injurious  fumes.  The  resulting  line  resem- 
bles the  Dutch. 


84  ETCHING   AND 


Kind  of  Line  resulting  from  different 
baths. — Nitric  line  is  wide  with  a  ragged 
edge  and  more  V-shaped.  The  Dutch  mor- 
dant bites  deeper  and  afterward  sidewise. 
At  first  it  is  like  a  shallow  "U"  and  in  deeper 
biting  it  takes  the  form  of  an  inverted  Moor- 
ish arch.  Deep  lines  therefore  hold  more 
ink  than  would  appear  from  the  width  of  line 
on  the  surface. 

Stopping  Out  Varnish. — ^Japan  Black 
thinned  with  turpentine  is  a  good  stopping  out 
varnish,  but  takes  too  long  to  dry.  Hamerton 
recommends  a  saturated  solution  of  white  wax 
in  ether,  adding  %  part  of  Japan  varnish. 
Chloroform  can  be  used  instead  of  ether. 
Another  good  mixture  is  of  Asphaltum  var- 
nish mixed  with  some  old  etching  ground. 
Sir  Frank  Short  recommends  etching  ground 
dissolved  in  chloroform  or  benzol.  The 
above  formulas  are  to  be  used  when  you  may 
wish  to  draw  over  the  ground.  For  ordinary 
stopping  out  use  any  varnish  that  is  imper- 
vious  to   acid   and   quick   drying.     Rhind's 


? 


1^  I 


From  a  proof  in  the 
possession  of 
Martin  Birnbaum,  Esq. 


THE  WATCHMAN 

An  Etching  by 

MARCUS  BEHMEN 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS        85 

quick  drying  stopping  out  varnish  is  excel- 
lent. Penrose  Mogul  Varnish  is  quick  dry- 
ing, acid  resisting  and  not  brittle. 

Scraper. — ^This  triangular  tool  has  three 
cutting  edges  which  must  be  kept  sharp  all 
the  time  or  they  will  scratch  the  plate.  It  is 
used  for  scraping  the  surface  of  the  plate  to 
reduce  over-bitten  lines.  The  scraper  is  also 
used  to  remove  dry  point  burr.  It  should  be 
very  sharp  for  this  purpose  as  sometimes  one 
wishes  to  remove  only  the  top  of  the  burr. 
Should  the  scraper  be  used  too  much  on  any 
one  part  of  the  plate  it  will  cause  a  depression 
which  will  hold  ink. 

Hammer,  Anvil  and  Callipers. — A  depres- 
sion is  remedied  by  knocking  up  the  plate 
from  the  back  by  means  of  a  hammer  and  pol- 
ished anvil.  A  map  of  the  depression  can  be 
drawn  on  the  back  of  the  copper  by  using  a 
pair  of  long-armed  callipers,  one  prong  of 
which  is  sharpened  to  scratch  the  back  of  the 
plate.  Be  careful  not  to  knock  up  the  plate 
too  much  or  it  may  buckle. 


86  ETCHING   AND 

Burnisher. — This  is  also  used  to  reduce 
over-bitten  passages.  It  consists  of  an  oval- 
shaped  piece  of  highly  polished  steel  set  in 
a  wooden  handle.  The  tapering  point  is  the 
part  used  in  reducing  the  lines.  It  is  held  at 
an  angle  to  the  plate  and  passed  diagonally 
across  the  lines,  thus  partly  closing  them  so 
that  they  hold  less  ink  and  will  print  lighter. 
The  burnisher  is  a  most  useful  tool,  and  in 
the  hands  of  an  expert  can  be  made  to  perform 
wonders.  Some  etchers  over-bite  certain  pas- 
sages purposely  to  get  the  exact  tones  with  the 
burnisher.  To  keep  the  burnisher  in  good 
condition  rub  it  back  and  forth  along  a  groove 
in  a  piece  of  wood  in  which  some  emery  pow- 
der has  been  placed.  Tripoli  powder  and 
olive  oil  are  also  good  for  polishing  the  bur- 
nisher. 

Graver  or  Burin. — This  is  a  tool  which 
must  be  sparingly  used  in  etching.  It  is  use- 
ful to  strengthen  a  weak  line,  following  each 
irregularity.  To  slightly  rebite  lines  which 
have  been  gone  over  with  the  burin  restores 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       87 

the  quality  of  the  etched  line.  Avoid  employ- 
ing the  burin  in  the  stiff  manner  of  the  en- 
graver. 

Charcoal. — ^Willow  Charcoal  in  sticks  is 
used  to  polish  the  plate  and  reduce  over-bit- 
ten passages.  It  comes  in  varying  degrees  of 
hardness  and  is  used  with  water  as  well  as 
olive  oil. 

Oil  Rubber. — An  Oil  Rubber  is  made  by 
binding  tightly  a  roll  of  old  printing  blanket- 
ing. The  roll  is  usually  about  6''  long  by  2" 
in  diameter.  The  end  is  used  with  oil  for 
polishing  the  plate. 


88  ETCHING   AND 


F 


CHAPTER   IX 

PREPARING  THE  PLATE  FOR  ACID 

IRST  make  sure  that  there  are  no 
scratches  on  the  surface  of  the  plate. 
Remove  any  you  may  find  with  the 
burnisher  and  some  olive  oil.  Clean  the 
plate  with  turpentine  and  a  soft  rag.  Ben- 
zine is  also  sometimes  used.  Use  salt  and 
vinegar  to  remove  tarnish.  Afterward  use 
a  mixture  of  ammonia  and  whiting.  Wash  off 
the  whiting  with  water  and  dry  the  plate,  after 
which  it  is  ready  for  the  ground.  Warm  the 
plate  until  the  ball  of  ground  will  just  melt 
through  the  silk  when  passed  over  the  surface. 
Be  careful  not  to  have  the  plate  too  hot  or 
the  ground  will  be  burned.  Rub  over  the  sur- 
face evenly  with  a  bit  of  printing  muslin  to 
distribute  the  ground;  then,  using  the  dabber, 
tap  first  vigorously  all  over  the  plate;  then 
softly,  as  it  cools.     The  ground  should  be 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       89 

evenly  distributed  and  as  thin  as  possible, 
and  yet  resist  the  acid.  The  plate  should  not 
be  heated  too  quickly  or  too  much.  Keep 
it  just  hot  enough  to  melt  the  ground  through 
the  silk.  If  bubbles  come  on  the  plate,  it  is 
too  hot.  Should  you  have  too  much  ground, 
remove  the  surplus  by  first  cleaning  the  dab- 
ber  on  another  plate  or  a  sheet  of  tissue  paper, 
warmed  on  the  heater.  With  this  cleaned 
dabber  take  up  the  extra  ground  from  the 
plate.  The  two  things  to  guard  against  in 
putting  on  the  ground  are  grease  and  dust  on 
the  plate. 

To  smoke  the  plate  use  a  bundle  of  twisted 
wax  tapers.  Let  the  plate  get  cold  before 
smoking  on  account  of  the  danger  of  burning 
the  ground.  In  smoking,  hold  the  plate  face 
downward  by  the  hand-vise  high  above  the 
head.  Pass  quickly  backward  and  forward 
the  lighted  tapers.  Be  careful  to  smoke 
the  edges.  The  centre  will  get  enough 
smoke  in  covering  the  edges.  Be  very 
careful    not    to    burn    the    ground    either 


90  ETCHING   AND 

by  stopping  too  long  in  one  place  or 
getting  the  taper  too  near  the  plate.  The 
flame,  but  not  the  wick,  should  touch  the 
ground.  A  little  practise  will  enable  the  be- 
ginner to  get  a  beautiful,  dull  black  surface, 
like  polished  ebony,  all  over  the  plate.  If 
you  find  any  parts  that  are  not  smooth  and 
are  grey  and  shiny,  the  ground  has  been 
burned,  and  you  must  wash  it  all  off  with  tur- 
pentine and  begin  again,  since  burned  ground 
will  not  resist  the  acid. 

Roller  Ground. — Use  equal  parts  of  etch- 
ing ground  broken  into  bits  and  spike  oil  of 
lavender,  i  oz.  by  weight  to  2  oz.  by  measure. 
Warm  until  dissolved,  stirring  with  a  glass 
rod.  Place  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  and  keep 
corked.  Use  this  paste  ground  with  a  leather- 
covered  roller.  Spread  the  ground  with  a 
palette  knife  on  a  piece  of  plate-glass  or  an- 
other plate  and  charge  the  roller  evenly  with 
this  paste.  Roll  the  plate  many  times  in  vari- 
ous directions  until  it  is  covered  with  a  thin 
even  film  of  the  ground.     Heat  the  plate  to 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       91 

expel  the  oil  of  lavender.  This  is  shown 
by  a  slight  change  in  colour.  Smoke  as 
usual. 

Liquid  Method. — Dissolve  etching  ground 
in  spike  oil  of  lavender,  chloroform  or  men- 
tholated ether  in  the  following  manner:  A 
small  piece  of  ground  is  put  into  a  6  oz.  bot- 
tle filled  with  the  liquid.  Shake  well  and 
leave  for  a  day  or  so.  Pour  oflf  the  liquid  a 
couple  of  times  to  get  rid  of  the  sediment. 
Level  the  plate  with  a  small  spirit  level  and 
pour  the  liquid  ground  on  until  it  just  covers 
all  the  surface  and  fills  all  the  corners.  Put 
surplus  back  into  bottle  and  allow  plate  to 
dry.     Smoke  as  before. 

To  polish  the  plate  after  working  on  it  with 
the  scraper,  use  the  materials  in  the  follow- 
ing order:  Arkansas  stone,  snake  stone,  water 
charcoal,  oil  charcoal,  felt  and  powdered 
emery  with  w^ater,  oil  rubber,  and  putty  pow- 
der with  a  bit  of  old  blanketing.  All  of  the 
above  are  seldom  needed — usually  the  oil 
charcoal  and  oil  rubber  are  enough.   The  bur- 


92  ETCHING   AND 

nisher  may  be  used  to  take  out  scratches  which 
have  a  mysterious  way  of  appearing  on  the 
plate  no  matter  how  careful  you  are. 


\ 


Permission  of  Berlin  Photographic  Co. 


'% 


SELF-PORTRAIT 

Etching  by 

MAX  LIEBERMANN 


OTHER  GRAPHIC  ARTS   93 


CHAPTER  X 


DRAWING  ON   THE   PLATE 

EVERY  line  of  the  drawing  should  be 
made,  bearing  in  mind  the  effect  of 
the  acid  and  printing.  Different  acids 
bring  different  results.  The  technique  is  en- 
tirely different  from  pen  or  pencil  drawings 
— the  fewer  lines  for  a  given  effect  the  better. 
Lalanne's  rule  for  drawing  is:  "The  breadth 
of  the  space  between  lines  should  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  depth  of  biting."  That  is,  for 
shallow  biting  keep  the  lines  close  together, 
and  for  deep  biting  wide  apart.  This  rule 
allows  for  the  action  of  the  acid  which  bites 
sidewise  as  well  as  down.  Etching  is  an  in- 
terpretation of  nature,  and  no  attempt  should 
be  made  to  conceal  the  line  which  is  the  most 
vital  fact  of  this  medium. 

The  needle  should  be  held  as  near  upright 


94  ETCHING   AND 

as  possible  to  get  the  best  results.  At  first 
you  will  get  the  lines  in  the  distance  too  far 
apart,  because  they  will  look  closer  than  they 
really  are  on  account  of  the  shining  of  the 
copper  on  the  black  ground.  Using  a  reading 
glass  or  placing  a  piece  of  tracing  paper  over 
the  plate  will  show  you  the  real  state  of  the 
lines.  Draw  with  evenness  of  pressure  all 
over  and  with  enough  firmness  to  expose  the 
copper.  The  temptation  is  strong  to  press 
lightly  in  the  fainter  parts.  The  copper  may 
be  exposed  so  that  it  shines  through  and  yet 
enough  of  the  ground  will  be  left  to  prevent 
the  acid  from  biting.  To  put  on  extra  pres- 
sure in  a  place  where  deep  biting  is  required 
will  assist  the  result,  but  in  general  it  is  best 
to  leave  the  values  to  the  acid.  Do  not  cross 
the  lines  at  too  acute  an  angle  or  you  will  find 
the  acid  has  made  a  hole  at  the  intersection. 
The  more  surface  exposed  In  a  given  area  the 
faster  the  nitric  will  bite.  This  should  be 
considered  in  the  stopping  out  or  you  will  find 
some  parts  too  deeply  bitten. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS       95 

A  soft-haired  brush  should  be  used  to  brush 
off  the  particles  of  ground  which  come  up 
from  the  needle.  Temperature  affects  the 
work  of  the  needle  as  cold  hardens  the  ground. 
A  single  needle  may  be  used  or  a  number  of 
different  sizes,  employing  the  finer  for  the 
distance.  When  drawing  indoors  place  a 
screen  of  tracing  paper  stretched  over  a 
wooden  frame  at  an  angle  of  45°  in  front  of 
the  window,  and  draw  in  the  light  which  fil- 
ters through.  This  makes  the  lines  of  gold 
on  the  black  ground  very  plain.  At  night  a 
light  can  be  placed  back  of  the  screen. 

II 

METHODS   OF  TRANSFER 

Transfer  Paper. — First  a  piece  of  black 
or  red  transfer  paper  is  cut  the  size  of  the 
plate.  Over  this  is  stretched  a  tracing  of  the 
subject,  face  down  if  it  is  desirable  that  the 
print  come  as  it  is  in  nature.  In  any  case  all 
lettering  must  be  done  in  the  reverse  or  it  will 
be  wrong  in  the  print.     After  the  tracing  is 


96  ETCHING   AND 

stretched  in  place  and  you  have  made  sure 
that  the  vertical  and'  horizontal  lines  corre- 
spond to  the  sides  of  the  plate,  you  draw  over 
the  tracing  with  a  hard  pencil  or  blunt  etching 
needle.  In  working  out-of-doors,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  start  directly  on  the  plate  without  pre- 
liminary outlines.  There  are  two  ways  of 
overcoming  this.  One  is  to  place  a  transfer 
paper  over  the  plate  and  stretch  drawing  or 
tracing  paper  over  this.  Make  your  outline 
drawing  on  this  paper.  Another  method  is 
to  outline  your  subject  on  the  ground  with  a 
small  brush  dipped  in  Chinese  White. 

The  Gelatine  Method  is  as  follows :  Scratch 
the  outline  drawing  with  the  etching  needle 
on  a  sheet  of  gelatine.  Fill  scratches  with 
black  lead.  Put  on  plate  face  down  and  rub 
back  of  gelatine  with  burnisher. 

Transferring  through  press. — Draw  on 
tracing  paper  using  a  sharp  B  pencil. 
Dampen  the  paper  by  laying  between  moist 
blotters.  Place  on  plate,  pencil  side  down, 
and  run  through  the  press,  first  reducing  the 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS       97 

pressure.  In  working  direct  from  nature  if 
you  sit  with  your  back  to  the  subject  and  draw 
what  you  see  in  a  mirror,  the  result  will  be 
right  in  the  print. 

There  is  a  question  among  etchers  as  to  the 
importance  of  reversing.  With  Whistler  the 
subject,  as  such,  was  secondary,  and  therefore 
he  did  not  consider  it  at  all  necessary  to 
bother  about  reversing  his  drawing  on  the 
plate.  He  was  not  producing  illustrations  of 
places,  but  works  of  art.  Others  care  so  lit- 
tle for  this  that  they  even  letter  correctly  on 
the  plate,  thus  allowing  the  lettering  to  come 
reversed  in  the  print.  A  familiar  building, 
such  as  Notre  Dame  in  Paris,  certainlv  looks 
odd  when  printed  in  reverse. 


98  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER   XI 


BITING  THE    PLATE 

IF  the  plate  has  stood  for  some  time  after 
being  drawn  upon,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  wash  the  ground  in  a  solution  of  acetic 
acid  and  salt  in  order  that  the  acid  may  bite 
more  evenly.  To  a  half  cupful  of  acetic  acid, 
of  about  the  strength  of  ordinary  vinegar,  add 
two  teaspoonfuls  of  common  salt.  To  re- 
move any  grease  that  may  be  on  the  ground, 
brush  with  a  piece  of  cotton  dipped  in  al- 
cohol before  putting  in  the  bath.  Cover 
over  the  sides  and  back  of  the  plate  with 
an  acid-resisting  varnish.  If  nitric  acid  is 
to  be  used,  pour  it  into  a  porcelain  dish  to 
a  depth  of  about  one  inch  and  put  the  plate 
in,  first  having  water  handy  to  wash  ofif  the 
plate  and  also  any  acid  from  the  fingers.  The 
old  way  to  make  the  dish  for  the  acid  was  to 


i^j'A.r-'sr.^ 


Permission  of  Berlin  Photographic  Co. 


THE  LEAFLESS  TREE 

Wood  cut  in  color  by 

EMIL  ORLIK 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS        99 

build  a  wall  of  wax  around  the  plate.  The 
wax  was  made  to  adhere  to  it  by  running  a 
hot  key  around  the  inside  of  this  wall.  This 
method  is  rarely  used  now. 

Soon  after  the  plate  is  put  into  the  nitric 
bath,  bubbles  of  gas  form  on  the  lines,  first 
on  those  which  are  drawn  near  together  and 
last  on  the  isolated  lines.  This  bubbling  is 
one  of  the  ways  of  gauging  the  biting.  If 
some  of  the  lines  refuse  to  bubble  you  may  be 
sure  that  you  did  not  employ  enough  pressure 
to  remove  all  the  ground.  However,  they 
may  start  later.  The  bubbles  should  be  gently 
brushed  off  with  a  soft  feather.  For  very 
faint  lines  in  the  distance  of  your  subject  two 
to  three  bubblings  will  be  found  to  be  enough. 
That  is,  the  bubbles  are  allowed  to  accumu- 
late and  are  brushed  off  with  the  feather  two 
or  three  times.  You  will  find  that  as  the 
biting  progresses  the  acid  tends  to  bite  faster, 
even  when  the  temperature  remains  the  same. 
When  the  distance  is  bitten  enough,  the  plate 
should  be  removed,  washed  in  water  and  dried 


100  ETCHING   AND 

by  pressing  blotters  lightly  over  the  surface. 
Be  careful  not  to  let  the  blotters  slip  or  the 
ground  will  be  damaged. 

There  are  several  w^ays  of  telling  how 
deeply  the  lines  are  bitten.  One  way  is  to 
hold  the  plate  up  high  and  look  across  the 
lines  toward  the  light.  The  amount  of  shad- 
ow cast  by  the  lines  will  give  you  an  idea  of 
their  depth.  Another  way  is  to  draw  a  needle 
over  a  line  and  gauge  the  depth  by  the  drop 
of  the  needle  in  crossing  the  line.  Still  an- 
other way  is  to  select  some  line  or  set  of  lines 
that  are  not  important  and  scrape  off  the 
ground  to  look  at  them.  They  will  of  course 
have  to  be  covered  with  stopping-out  varnish 
whether  deep  enough  or  not.  When  you 
have  decided  that  the  distance  is  bitten 
enough,  paint  out  carefully  with  a  stopping- 
out  varnish,  taking  great  care  not  to  run  into 
lines  you  wish  to  bite  more.  The  lines  must 
look  less  heavy  than  they  will  be  in  the  print 
because  the  ink  is  darker  than  the  shadow. 
You  can  take  the  plate  out  of  the  acid  with 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      101 

your  fingers  if  you  wash  your  fingers  at  once, 
or  you  can  use  a  piece  of  wood,  with  a  chis- 
elled end  to  press  under  the  edge  of  the  plate 
for  a  lifter.  Grease  on  the  fingers  will  pro- 
tect them  from  the  acid. 

If  anything,  over-bite  the  distance  because 
it  is  easier  to  reduce  than  to  deepen  shallow 
lines.  It  is  wise  to  wear  a  blouse,  similar  to 
the  workman's  blouse  in  France,  which  will 
entirely  cover  your  clothes,  as  the  acid  has  a 
most  mysterious  way  of  making  bright  spots 
on  clothing,  no  matter  how  careful  you  are. 
It  is  best  not  to  try  to  finish  a  plate  in  the  first 
biting.  Get  the  essential  parts.  Leave  the 
large  light,  etc.,  for  future  biting  which  youi 
can  do  so  much  better  with  a  proof  of  the  work 
before  you.  Increasing  the  temperature  of 
the  acid  increases  speed  but  decreases  the  va- 
riety. Nitric  acid  bites  quicker  on  a  warm 
damp  day.  Strong  acid  tends  to  roughen  and 
foul  the  plate.  An  old  saying  of  etchers  is, 
"One  day  of  stopping-out  is  worth  five  with 
the  needle." 


102  ETCHING   AND 

II 
OTHER   METHODS   OF  USING  ACID 

Etching  in  the  bath. — Place  the  grounded 
plate  in  the  acid  bath  and  begin  by  drawing 
those  lines  which  are  to  bite  the  deepest  and 
work  toward  the  lightest.  It  is  a  most  diffi- 
cult way  for  a  beginner  to  etch.  I  would  not 
advise  trying  it  until  you  have  had  a  good 
deal  of  experience  with  the  stopping-out.  Of 
course  you  will  use  this  method  some  in  the 
stopping-out  process.  Use  an  old  needle  or  a 
sewing  needle  in  a  wooden  handle  because  the 
acid  will  eat  the  needle  as  well  as  the  copper. 
However,  it  will  last  for  some  time.  This 
method  was  invented  by  Sir  Seymour  Haden, 
but  is  not  used  by  many  etchers.  It  has  too 
many  difficulties. 

Avoiding  stopping-out. — In  this  method 
first  draw  in  only  the  parts  that  are  to  be 
bitten  the  most.  Place  the  plate  in  acid  until 
these  lines  are  bitten  enough,  and,  on  removing 
it,  wash  in  water  and  draw  in  the  set  of  lines 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS     103 

that  are  the  next  grade  lighter  than  the  first, 
and  so  on  to  the  lightest.  Of  course  at  any 
time  between  bitings  you  can  remove  the 
ground  in  order  to  make  a  print  which  will 
be  a  guide  in  further  work.  One  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  way  of  working  is  that  you 
can  run  lines  across  those  already  bitten.  For 
instance,  the  lines  of  a  sky  showing  through 
foliage  would  require  a  lot  of  careful  stop- 
ping-out in  the  old  method. 

Still  another  method  is  to  place  the  plate 
on  an  inverted  dish  in  the  bottom  of  the  empty 
tray,  pour  the  acid  on  the  plate  and  manipu- 
late it  with  a  feather.  The  acid  will  stay 
where  wanted  if  mixed  with  a  little  saliva. 
This  method  is  not  as  nice  as  it  is  useful. 
Start  the  acid  where  you  want  the  darkest 
lines  and  enlarge  the  space  covered  by  the 
acid  with  the  feather  until  you  have  the  faint- 
est lines  bitten. 

Whistler's  method  of  biting  a  plate  as  de- 
scribed by  Otto  Bacher  is  as  follows:  "He 
put  the  plate  ready  for  biting  on  the  corner  of 


104  ETCHING   AND 

the  table,  then  poured  the  acid  slowly  onto  a 
feather  held  against  the  mouth  of  the  bottle, 
the  acid  dripping  from  the  end  of  the  feather. 
By  moving  the  bottle  and  feather  back  and 
forth  he  covered  the  plate  entirely  with  acid. 
The  feather  was  employed  to  keep  the  plate 
equally  covered.  When  the  biting  was  finished 
he  would  place  the  feather  against  the  tilted 
edge  of  the  plate  and  drain  the  acid  back  into 
the  bottle."  If  you  employ  this  method  it 
would  be  wise  to  have  plenty  of  water  near  in 
case  of  accident.  j 

Hamerton's  Positive  Process. — This  is  a 
method  of  working  in  black  on  a  white 
ground.  The  ground  is  made  white  instead 
of  black  and  the  Dutch  bath  is  used,  thus  giv- 
ing a  white  surface  and  black  lines.  I  doubt 
if  this  method  is  much  used  because  in  prac- 
tise one  soon  becomes  accustomed  to  the  golden 
lines  of  the  copper  on  the  black  ground.  This 
process,  and  the  one  following  are  fully  ex- 
plained in  Hamerton's  Etcher's  Handbook. 
Bracquemond  drew  with  pen  and  ink  on  a 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      105 

clean  copper  plate.  He  then  ground  the  plate 
in  the  usual  way  and  immediately  immersed  it 
in  water — the  ink  softens  in  the  water  and  in 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  ground  will  come 
up  where  the  ink  lines  are  if  rubbed  with  a 
flannel.  Bite  as  usual  and  the  result  resem- 
bles a  pen  and  ink  drawing.  Flour  of  sul- 
phur and  oil  put  onto  a  plate  with  a  brush  for 
five  or  ten  minutes  gives  a  flat  tone.  The  sul- 
phur makes  the  plate  look  darker  than  it 
prints. 

In  practise,  the  etcher  usually  employs  a 
combination  of  several  or  all  of  the  above 
methods.  A  good  general  rule  in  biting  is 
to  err,  if  at  all,  in  over-biting  the  distance  and 
under-biting  the  foreground. 

Ill 

FOUL  BITING 

Should  the  ground  be  improperly  laid  the 
acid  may  find  its  way  through  in  spots  and 
show  what  is  known  as  foul  biting.  Some  of 


106  ETCHING   AND 

this  fouling  may  come  where  it  can  remain 
with  advantage,  but  should  any  of  it  come  in 
the  delicate  parts  such  as  the  sky,  it  must  be  re- 
moved. Gouge  it  out  first  with  a  scorper,  a 
tool  something  like  a  burin,  knock  the  plate  up 
from  the  back  and  polish.  This  is  tedious 
work,  and  if  your  plate  is  covered  with  a  deep 
fouling  you  may  find  it  easier  to  do  a  new 
plate. 

Sometimes  fouling  is  purposely  done.  If 
there  is  not  much  wanted,  a  simple  way  is  to 
take  a  coarse  needle  and  tap  or  dot  the  ground 
on  the  plate  wherever  you  want  the  fouling. 
Another  method  is  to  lay  a  dusty  ground. 
Work  in  a  cool  bath  until  the  parts  to  be 
kept  clear  are  finished.  Paint  these  out  and 
warm  up  the  bath  when  the  dust  spots  will 
probably  foul  all  you  want.  Or  warm  the 
plate  and  touch  ground  with  a  fluffy  rag 
where  you  want  fouling.  Put  sandpaper  on  the 
ground  and  rub  on  with  burnisher.  This  can 
also  be  done  on  the  plate  after  the  ground  is 
removed,  using  more  pressure  with  burnisher. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      107 

Warm  up  the  ground  and  sprinkle  with  a 
little  salt.  Wash  off  the  salt  and  bite.  Foul- 
ing will  show  wherever  the  salt  has  touched 
the  ground. 


108  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER   XII 

I 

REWORKING  GROUND 

SHOULD  you  find,  as  is  very  probable, 
that  some  parts  of  the  etching  require 
more  work  to  bring  out  the  desired 
ef5fect,  proceed  in  one  of  two  ways:  either  by 
putting  in  dry-point  or  by  re-etching,  as  fol- 
lows :  The  plate  is  first  carefully  cleaned  with 
turpentine,  ammonia,  whiting  and  water. 
Then  melt  some  of  the  etching  ground  and 
rub  into  the  lines  with  a  bit  of  printing  mus- 
lin. This  protects  the  lines  already  bitten. 
Put  on  a  ground  with  the  dabber,  or  you  can 
go  over  it  with  a  roller,  and  remove  any  extra 
ground  by  passing  the  roller  over  another 
heated  plate.  Go  over  the  surface  until  the 
ground  is  even.  Do  not  smoke.  The  old  work 
will  show  through  this  ground. 

Instead  of  using  the  roller  with  the  hot 


EGYPTIAN  DANCER 

From  an  Original  Etching  by 
ANNE  GOLDTHWAITE 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      109 

plate  clean  off  as  much  of  the  ground  as  pos- 
sible from  the  surface  with  a  pad  of  linen 
rag,  lightly  folded.  Let  the  plate  cool  and 
put  a  roller  ground  on  in  the  usual  way.  This 
is  the  method  recommended  by  Sir  Frank 
Short. 

II 
REBITING 

The  rebiting  is  for  the  purpose  of  deepen- 
ing any  lines  which  may  have  come  out  too 
light.  Use  a  paste  ground  made  of  the  ordi- 
nary etching  ground  dissolved  in  spike  oil  of 
lavender.  Some  of  this  paste  should  be  spread 
on  a  clean  piece  of  plate  glass  or  an  extra 
plate  and  gone  over  many  times  with  a  leather 
roller  until  the  paste  is  evenly  distributed  on 
the  roller.  Then  roll  over  the  plate  to  be 
rebitten  a  number  of  times  in  every  direction, 
employing  no  more  pressure  than  the  weight 
of  the  roller.  The  plate  should  now  be  in  the 
same  condition  as  before  removing  the  ground. 
That  is,  the  surface  of  the  plate  is  covered 


110  ETCHING   AND 

with  a  ground  and  the  lines  are  free  to  receive 
further  biting.  You  must  heat  the  plate  un- 
til it  shines,  to  drive  off  the  oil  of  lavender. 
A  little  practise  v^ill  enable  you  to  get  this 
result.  Some  etchers  fill  the  lines  first  with 
whiting  and  rub  off  with  chamois.  This  is 
not  necessary,  however. 

The  most  important  thing  is  to  clean  the 
plate  thoroughly  before  applying  the  ground 
and  have  the  plate  and  roller  free  from  dust. 
Don't  smoke  a  rebiting  ground,  because  the 
heat  may  cause  the  shallow  lines  to  fill  up. 
If  the  plate  is  irregular  on  the  surface  the 
roller  cannot  be  used.  It  is  then  necessary  to 
use  the  dabber.  This  is  a  very  delicate  oper- 
ation and  requires  much  practise  to  succeed. 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      111 

CHAPTER  Xni 
OTHER  METHODS 

I 

SOFT   GROUND 

FOR  soft  ground  etching  melt  together 
lard  or  tallow  and  an  equal  amount  of 
etching  ground.  This  is  the  propor- 
tion for  cold  weather.  In  warm  weather  use 
less,  and  in  hot  weather  only  one-half  as  much 
tallow  or  lard  as  ground.  This  ground  is  to 
be  put  on  in  the  usual  way,  using  a  separate 
dabber.  The  ground  is  tender  and  will  not 
bear  touching  with  the  hand.  Thin-grained 
paper  or  tissue  paper  is  placed  on  a  piece  of 
soft  blotting  paper.  Then  carefully  place  the 
grounded  plate  face  down  on  the  paper  and 
turn  up  the  edges  and  paste  on  back.  Some- 
times the  paper  is  dampened  and  stretched. 
You  now  make  your  drawing  on  this  paper 
using  an  H  or  F  pencil,  being  careful  to  sup- 


112  ETCHING   AND 

port  the  hand  on  some  kind  of  rest  so  that  it 
will  not  touch  the  surface  of  the  paper.  The 
pencil  is  employed  as  in  ordinary  drawing, 
i.e.,  varying  the  pressure  to  get  values.  But 
there  is  not  as  much  difference  between  pres- 
sures as  in  ordinary  drawing.  Remove  the 
paper  carefully  from  the  plate  and  you  will 
find  that  it  has  picked  up  the  ground  wherever 
you  have  drawn  with  the  pencil.  Bite  the 
plate  in  the  usual  way,  noting  that  the  biting 
is  somewhat  quicker  than  in  ordinary  etching. 
Variety  is  gotten  by  using  different  paper  and 
pencils. 

II 

AQUATINT 

In  aquatint,  spaces  are  bitten  instead  of 
lines.  It  is  best  to  etch  lightly  the  construction 
lines  first.  The  plate  is  then  thoroughly 
cleaned  and  dusted  all  over  evenly  with  pow- 
dered asphaltum  placed  in  a  muslin  bag. 
Strike  the  hand  containing  the  bag  against  a 
ruler.      When  completely  dusted  warm  the 


f^ 


Permission  of  Berlin  Photographic  Co. 


D'ANDRADE  AS  DON  JUAN 

Soft  Ground  Etching  by 
MAX  SLEVOGT 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      113 

plate  moderately  until  there  is  a  change  in 
colour.  Use  stopping-out  varnish  and  acid  in 
the  usual  way.  Paton  recommends  a  bottom- 
less box  with  a  piece  of  fine  muslin  stretched 
over  it.  Place  fine  white  resin  on  this,  put- 
ting box  over  the  plate  on  a  table.  Strike  the 
box  and  the  resin  will  sift  evenly  over  the 
plate.  There  are  other  methods  of  getting  a 
tint  on  a  plate, — for  instance,  running  a  plate 
with  an  ordinary  ground  on  it  and  covered 
with  a  piece  of  cloth  through  an  etching  press. 
Sandpaper  is  sometimes  used  in  the  same  way. 
Salt  sprinkled  on  a  heated  plate  covered  with 
etching  ground  is  also  used.  The  print  from 
an  aquatint  is  not  unlike  a  wash  drawing. 

Spirit  Ground. — Fill  a  bottle  one-third  full 
with  powdered  resin,  and  fill  up  with  rectified 
spirits  of  wine.  Be  sure  it  is  all  dissolved 
before  using.  Pour  over  the  plate  and  let  it 
run  evenly  all  over.  Let  the  plate  dry  and 
bite  as  usual.  In  the  resin  and  spirit  meth- 
ods, the  acid  bites  the  spaces  around  the  par- 
ticles of  resin.    In  the  cloth,  salt  and  sandpaper 


114  ETCHING  AND 

methods,  the  dots  made  by  these  materials 
bite.  To  get  a  variety  of  tone  in  a  sky,  put 
the  upper  edge  in  the  bath  first,  and  gradually 
lower  until  all  the  plate  is  in  the  bath.  This 
will  make  the  top  of  the  sky  darker. 


Ill 

MEZZOTINT 

The  mezzotint  rocker  or  cradle  is  shaped 
like  the  rocker  of  a  child's  cradle.  It  is  a 
piece  of  steel  about  2j^  inches  wide  and  >4 
inch  thick.  One  end  is  rounded  to  the  seg- 
ment of  a  circle  and  shaped  like  a  chisel.  On 
the  side  corresponding  to  the  back  of  the 
chisel  a  number  of  parallel  grooves  are  run 
perpendicular  to  the  chisel  edge.  There  are 
from  40  to  120  of  these  grooves  to  an  inch. 
The  intersections  of  these  grooves  and  the 
chiselled  edge  become  a  series  of  sharp  teeth. 
The  rocker  may  have  a  wooden  handle  or  it 
may  be  clamped  to  a  long  rod  not  unlike  a 
billiard  cue  and  rocked  by  allowing  the  other 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      115 

end  of  the  rod  to  run  in  a  groove  set  per- 
pendicular to  the  plate.  A  small  rocker  in  a 
handle  can  be  used  to  go  over  a  place  where 
too  much  burr  has  been  removed.  Use  a  bur- 
nisher to  polish  the  surface  for  strong  lights. 
Olive  oil  and  lamp  black  rubbed  over  the 
plate  gives  an  idea  of  the  plate's  condition. 
A  proof  may  be  printed  to  serve  as  a  guide. 
By  varying  the  number  of  teeth  in  the  rocker 
you  change  the  grain.  Seventy-two  teeth  to 
the  inch  is  the  usual  number  employed.  The 
fewer  teeth  the  coarser  the  grain.  Rocking 
costs  about  ten  cents  a  square  inch.  The  teeth 
of  the  rocker  make  a  hole  in  the  plate's  sur- 
face and  also  raise  a  burr.  The  greater  the 
amount  of  burr  removed  the  lighter  the  tone. 
The  mezzotint  scraper  is  shaped  something 
like  the  blade  of  a  knife,  but  it  is  sharpened 
at  the  end  only.  To  transfer  an  outline  to  a 
rocked  plate,  use  red  chalk  transfer  paper, 
first  smoking  the  plate.  A  blunted  dry-point 
needle  may  be  used  to  fix  the  outlines.  In 
scraping,  one  should  be  careful  to  follow  the 


116  ETCHING   AND 

last  stroke  or  the  work  will  be  uneven.  Mez- 
zotint may  be  combined  with  dry-point.  Use 
a  dull  point  in  order  that  the  work  may  be  the 
more  harmonious. 


I 


Permission  of  Berlin  Photographic  Co. 


ETCHING  FROM 

THE  DON  JUAN  PORTFOLIO 

By 

HANS  MEID 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      117 


CHAPTER   XIV 
FOR  A   FIRST   EXPERIMENT 

I    PROPOSE  to  give  here  only  the  most 
necessary  materials  required  to  carry  a 
plate   through   to   the   printing  stage. 
The  cost  of  those  purchased  should  be  under 
five  dollars.     I  would  not  advise  this  limited 
equipment  for  more  extensive  vv^ork. 

The  artist  should  choose  a  simple  subject 
employing  as  few  positive  values  and  lines  as 
possible.     Draw  with  an  even  pressure,  being 
sure  to  expose  the  copper  with  each  stroke. 
Materials  to  Purchase. — 


Plate 

Scraper 

Ball  of  Etching  Ground 

Burnisher 

Acid 

Charcoal 

Varnish 

Lampblack. 

Plate. — Get  a  small  plate  from  one  of  the 
firms  mentioned  in  the  appendix,  or  use  the 
back  of  an  old  visiting  card  plate.    You  can 


118  ETCHING   AND 

get  some  old  plates  from  a  card  engraver. 
These  must  be  cleaned  and  polished  and  the 
edges  filed. 

Ball  of  Etching  Ground. — It  will  probably 
be  found  more  convenient  to  purchase  a  bot- 
tle of  the  liquid  etching  ground  or  a  small 
ball  of  the  ground  about  the  size  of  a  walnut. 
The  cost  of  the  materials  for  making  a  larger 
quantity  will  be  about  the  same. 

Acid  should  be  pure.  Get  it  from  the  drug- 
gist.   Nitric  is  best  for  the  first  trial. 

Varnish. — Get  asphaltum  varnish  or  any 
good  varnish  that  is  impervious  to  acid  and 
can  be  removed  readily  with  turpentine. 

Scraper. — One  of  medium  size  will  do. 

Burnisher. — ^The  burnisher  and  scraper 
can  be  purchased  from  any  dealer  in  etching 
supplies. 

Charcoal. — One  stick  is  enough. 

Lampblack. — ^While  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary it  will  be  useful  to  mix  with  olive  oil 
and  rub  on  the  plate  so  that  the  work  may 
be  seen. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      119 


The  following  materials  can  be  easily  pro- 
cured  if  you  do  not  already  have  them: 


File 

Stopping-out  Varnish 

Vise 

Water-Colour  Brushes 

Turpentine 

Olive  Oil 

Whiting 

Chamois  Skin 

Ammonia 

Oil  Stone 

Tapers 

Hammer 

Tray 

Large  Wire  Nail 

Blotting  Papers 

Feathers 

Dabber 

Rags 

Etching  Needles 

Heater. 

File. — Any  file  that  will  round  the  edges 
of  the  copper. 

Vise. — A  pair  of  tweezers  will  do,  wrap- 
ping cloth  about  the  handle  to  protect  the 
fingers  from  heat.  Remember  to  put  a  small 
piece  of  blotting  paper  on  the  face  side  of 
the  plate  to  prevent  the  tweezers  from  scratch- 
ing the  surface. 

Turpentine. — A  small  bottle  of  turpentine 
will  answer. 

Whiting. — Electro  Silicon  as  used  in  the 
house  for  silver-polish  will  do  as  well  as  whit- 
ing.    Gilders  whitening  is  good. 


120  ETCHING   AND 

Ammonia. — ^Washing  ammonia  can  be 
used. 

Tapers. — Any  smoky  flame  may  take  the 
place  of  tapers.  For  instance:  that  from  a 
spirit  lamp.  As  the  blackening  of  the  ground 
is  only  for  seeing  the  work  more  clearly,  in  a 
first  plate  it  is  possible  to  omit  it. 

Tray. — Photo  developing  trays  are  not  ex- 
pensive, but  any  flat-bottomed  dish  will  do. 
I  have  known  of  a  wash-basin  being  success- 
fully employed. 

Blotting  Paper. — Large,  soft  sheets  are  re- 
quired. 

Dabber. — For  making  the  dabber,  refer  to 
page  75. 

Etching  Needles. — For  this  experiment  a 
sewing  needle  in  a  handle  of  wood  will  do; 
or  get  a  couple  of  broken  tools  from  a  dentist 
and  sharpen  them. 

Stopping-out  Varnish. — Dissolve  some  of 
the  etching  ground  in  chloroform  or  benzole. 

Water-Colour  Brushes. — You  have  plenty 
of  them  no  doubt. 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      121 

Olive  Oil. — As  used  in  the  house 

Oil  Stone. — Such  as  is  used  for  sharpen- 
ing a  knife. 

Hammer  and  Wire  Nail. — ^These  are  used 
to  knock  up  the  plate  from  the  back  in  case 
you  have  scraped  a  depression  in  the  surface. 
Place  the  plate  face  downward  on  a  piece  of 
soft  blotting-paper  and  mark  the  spot  by  meas- 
uring from  two  adjacent  sides  with  a  pencil. 

Feathers. — ^A  couple  of  small  ones  will  do. 

Rags. — Clean  cotton  rags  are  the  best. 

Heater. — A  gas  burner  is  best.  You  can 
use  a  gas-jet  if  necessary. 


122  ETCHING   AND 


CHAPTER 

XV 

PRINTING 

ist  of  Materials. — 

Press 

Heater 

Blankets 

Jigger 

Inks 

Printing  Muslin 

Plate  Oils 

Retroussage,  or 

Palette  Knife 

Stumping  Muslin 

Ink  Dabber  or  Ink  Roller 

Whiting 

Slab 

Sponge 

Muller 

Brush 

AN  etching  press  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  a  type  printing  press.  The 
principle  is  that  of  the  ordinary 
clothes-wringer  or  laundry  mangle.  The  es- 
sential parts  are  two  steel  rollers,  ten  inches 
or  more  in  length,  placed  one  above  another, 
the  lower  being  larger  in  diameter.  Origi- 
nally these  rollers  were  made  of  wood.  Be- 
tween them  is  a  movable  bed  of  steel  on  which 
is  sometimes  placed  a  sheet  of  zinc  and  upon 
this  the  plate  to  be  printed  is  laid.     If  the 


"«•     ^      Qi 

'I   U   H 


?i  ^  I  *  ^ 

U  Qg  td  g    U 

Q  O  e  a,   « 

Z  >^  ^  3 

O  o 

u 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      123 

pressure  is  uneven,  pieces  of  paper  can  be 
put  under  the  zinc  plate.  To  pass  this  bed 
f  between  the  rollers,  the  upper  wheel  has  at- 
tached to  its  axis  a  hub  with  either  long-han- 
dled spokes  or  a  geared  wheel.  The  former 
type  is  known  as  the  Star  press,  the  latter  is 
called  a  Geared  press.  A  rigid  enough  frame 
to  hold  these  parts  in  position  and  a  couple  of 
screws  connected  by  grooves  in  the  frame  with 
the  upper  roller  to  regulate  the  pressure,  com- 
plete the  essential  parts  of  an  etching  press. 
Custom  has  sanctioned  the  practise  of  putting 
several  thicknesses  of  cardboard  between  the 
axis  of  the  upper  roller  and  the  screw.  All 
presses  have  this  cushion,  as  it  is  called,  but  I 
have  been  unable  to  find  any  one  who  would 
maintain  that  as  good  a  print  could  not  be 
made  from  a  press  in  which  these  boards  were 
lacking.  However,  in  the  early  form  of 
presses,  these  bits  of  cardboard  were  neces- 
sary to  regulate  the  pressure.  The  saying  still 
exists  in  printing  establishments,  "Take  a  card 
out,"  meaning  to  reduce  the  pressure.    As  the 


124  ETCHING   AND 

pressure  in  printing  etchings  is  very  great,  all 
parts  of  a  press  should  be  especially  strong. 
Some  beautiful  examples  of  old  presses  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  Plantin  Museum  at  Antwerp. 

Blanketing. — Blankets  used  in  printing 
are  of  two  kinds,  Swanskin  and  fronting. 
Two  thicknesses  of  the  fronting  go  next  to  the 
plate  and  three  thicknesses  of  the  Swanskin 
next  to  the  top  roller.  These  blankets  act  as 
a  pad  and  help  to  force  the  paper  into  the 
lines  of  the  plate.  They  should  be  washed 
from  time  to  time,  oftener  when  using  sized 
papers.  The  corners  of  the  blankets  should 
be  rounded  off  and  the  upper  ones  made 
smaller  than  the  lower.  The  blankets  should 
be  a  little  wider  than  the  plate  to  be  printed. 

Etching  Inks  are  made  from  the  lees  of  the 
grape  after  the  wine  has  been  pressed  out. 
The  inks  most  commonly  used  in  printing  are: 

Frankfort  Black  Forcing  Black 

Winston  Black  Heavy  French 

Michael  Angelo  Black  Light  French 
Rembrandt  Black 

Burnt  Umber  is  used  to  warm  the  ink. 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      125 

The  following  formulas  are  good,  but  dif- 
ferent combinations  can  be  experimented 
with. 

STRONG  INK,   NO.   1 

1  part  Heavy  French. 

1  part  Winston's  Frankfort  Black. 

1  part  Michael  Angelo  Black. 

3  parts  Light  French. 

Burnt  Umber  to  warm.  Use  medium  and  thin  oils 
in  equal  parts. 

INK   FOR  TRIAL   PROOFS 

Frankfort  Black. 
Burnt  Umber  to  warm. 
Medium  Oil. 

STRONG   INK,   NO.   2 

1  part  Heavy  French  mixed  with  thin  oil. 
1  part  Michael  Angelo  Black. 

1  part  H addon's  Forcing  Black. 

2  parts  Light  French. 

Burnt  Umber  to  warm. 

Equal  parts  medium  and  thin  oil.  Grind  as  stiff  as 
possible. 


126  ETCHING   AND 

STRONG   INK,   NO.   3 

1  part  Heavy  French. 
1  part  Forcing  Black. 

1  part  Frankfort  Black. 

2  parts  Light  French. 

Burnt  Umber  to  warm.    Use  medium  oil. 

INK   FOR   MEZZOTINTS 

Frankfort  Black. 
Burnt  Umber  to  warm. 
Use  thick  oil. 

Good  inks  are  sold  in  cans  ready  for  use. 

Plate  Oils. — Three  grades  of  burned  lin- 
seed oil — thin,  medium  and  thick — are  em- 
ployed in  printing.  Thin  and  medium  oils 
are  used  for  etching,  the  thick  for  mezzotint- 
ing. The  essential  thing  is  to  get  burned  oil, 
as  boiling  is  not  enough.  The  oil  is  placed  in 
caldrons  under  which  fires  are  lighted.  When 
the  boiling  point  is  reached  red-hot  pokers 
are  plunged  into  it.  It  is  burned  from  six  to 
ten  hours.  The  longer  the  burning  the  thick- 
er the  oil.  This  burning  of  the  oil  was  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  features  of  the  old 
printing  establishments. 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      127 

Palette  Knife. — A  large  size  palette  knife 
as  used  by  painters  will  do. 

Ink  Dabbers. — ^The  best  way  to  make  an 
ink  dabber  is  to  take  as  a  foundation  a  wooden 
stocking  darner  shaped  in  the  segment  of  a 
sphere  with  a  handle  attached  to  the  flat  side. 
Cut  old  stocking  legs  into  sections  and  pull 
them  over  one  at  a  time  until  you  have  made 
a  ball  at  least  four  inches  in  diameter.  Some 
of  them  can  be  pulled  over  the  handle.  To 
finish  the  dabber  stretch  over  it  a  circular 
piece  of  printer's  blanketing  and  lace  at  the 
handle  with  strong  thread.  This  handle  can 
be  previously  covered  with  a  piece  of  kid  from 
an  old  glove.  The  blanketing  is  laced  that  it 
may  be  easily  renewed  without  making  a  new 
dabber. 

Ink  Roller. — A  good  ink  roller  is  made  by 
using  as  a  foundation  a  small  size  rolling-pin. 
Proceed  as  with  the  dabber,  covering  tightly 
with  blanketing  laced  at  either  end. 

Slab. — A  smooth  surface  for  grinding  the 
ink  may  be  of  polished  marble,  granite  or 


128  ETCHING   AND 

lithographic  stone,  in  size  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  inches  square.  A  good  shape  is 
eighteen  by  twenty-four  inches. 

MuUer. — A  piece  of  marble,  polished  on 
one  side  and  shaped  so  as  to  be  comfortably 
grasped  with  both  hands. 

Heater. — ^The  best  heater  is  a  smooth  sheet 
of  iron  on  legs  under  which  a  gas  burner  is 
placed.  Some  etchers  make  this  plate  so 
large  that  by  placing  the  burner  at  one  end 
the  other  remains  cool  thus  doing  away  with 
the  jigger. 

Jigger. — A  jigger  is  a  wooden  box  of  the 
same  height  as  the  heater  and  placed  beside 
it.  The  front  of  the  box  can  be  hinged  and 
the  interior  utilised  for  keeping  the  printing 
muslins. 

Printing  Muslin. — ^A  very  satisfactory  ma- 
terial to  use  for  removing  the  ink  from  the 
plate  in  printing  is  a  kind  of  muslin  known  as 
tarlatan.  For  retroussage  or  stumping,  a  fine 
grade  of  cheesecloth  is  satisfactory. 

Whiting  (Blanc  d'Espagne). — ^To  prevent 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      129 

scratches  on  the  plate,  gritty  particles  should 
be  removed  from  ordinary  whiting  by  pre- 
cipitating in  water.  Both  Electro  Silicon  and 
Gilder's  whiting  are  good. 

Sponge. — The  sponge  should  be  very  fine 
and  soft. 

Brush. — A  stiff  hat  brush  is  used  to  bring 
up  the  pile  on  the  surface  of  the  paper  just 
before  printing. 

Grinding  the  Ink. — The  dry  ink  is  ground 
on  the  slab  with  the  muller.  This  takes  some 
time  and  is  not  easy  work.  The  several  inks 
are  placed  on  the  slab  and  the  lumps  crushed. 
Then  some  oil  is  added  and  the  muller,  held 
in  both  hands,  is  passed  many  times  forward 
and  back  over  the  slab.  Employ  pressure 
only  when  pushing  the  muller  away;  then 
bring  it  back  with  the  edge  farthest  away 
slightly  raised.  More  oil  is  added  from  time 
to  time.  The  ink  must  be  thoroughly  ground 
or  you  will  find  scratches  on  your  plate. 
Over-grinding  is  as  bad  as  under-grinding. 
Any  grit  or  dirt  in  the  ink  will  make  itself 


130  ETCHING   AND 

known  in  scratches.  When  grinding  a  lot  of 
ink  at  once  it  is  wise  to  divide  it  into  small 
portions  and  grind  each  part  separately,  bring- 
ing them  all  together  at  the  last  grinding.  For 
thick  ink  use  less  oil.  Take  some  up  on  your 
palette  knife  to  see  if  it  is  of  the  right  con- 
sistency and  thoroughly  ground.  It  should 
feel  like  butter.  You  will  soon  learn  the  look 
of  the  ink  when  it  is  just  right.  It  is  better  to 
grind  the  ink  two  or  three  days  before  using. 
Inking. — The  ink  is  put  on  the  plate  in  the 
following  manner:  First,  with  a  dabber. 
Put  some  of  the  ink  on  the  dabber  with  a 
palette  knife  and  dab  it  all  over  the  surface 
of  the  warmed  plate  with  a  rocking  motion, 
paying  particular  attention  to  the  deep  lines, 
to  make  sure  that  they  are  full  of  ink.  For  the 
first  proof,  rub  the  ink  well  into  the  lines 
with  a  bit  of  printing  muslin.  The  dabber 
should  never  slide  on  the  plate  because  of  the 
danger  of  scratching.  The  dabber  should 
have  old  ink  taken  off  its  surface  by  working 
it  on  the  heater.    Second,  with  a  roller.    Take 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      131 

up  some  of  the  ink  from  the  slab  on  the  roller 
and  distribute  it  uniformly  over  the  plate. 
For  deeply  bitten  lines,  the  dabber  is  safer 
than  the  roller. 

Wiping  the  Plate. — ^The  whole  surface  of 
the  plate  is  now  covered  with  a  layer  of  ink. 
To  remove  this  ink,  the  printing  muslin  or 
tarlatan  is  used  in  the  following  manner.  A 
piece  of  muslin  about  a  yard  square  is  made 
up  into  a  flattened  ball  which  can  be  easily 
held.  The  outside  should  be  smooth,  with 
no  hard  lumps  beneath  the  surface.  Printers 
have  a  way  of  folding  the  muslin  by  grasping 
two  adjacent  corners  and  tossing  it  in  the  air, 
at  the  same  time  passing  first  one  hand  and 
then  the  other  underneath  toward  the  centre 
of  the  square.  You  should  have  at  least  three 
balls  of  this  tarlatan.  With  the  first  one  take 
off  the  bulk  of  the  ink  from  the  surface  of 
the  plate,  which  should  be  warm  at  this  stage. 
This  ball  is  passed  across  the  plate  exerting 
the  pressure  with  the  palm  of  the  hand,  the 
idea  being  to  remove  the  surface  ink  without 


132  ETCHING   AND 

disturbing  any  in  the  lines.  It  soon  becomes 
charged  with  ink.  A  "fat"  rag  is  one  with 
quite  an  amount  of  ink  on  it.  It  is  more  sym- 
pathetic than  a  clean  one.  Take  another  ball 
of  muslin  and  with  a  twisting  motion  work 
over  the  surface  of  the  plate,  which  by  this 
time  should  be  almost  cool.  You  may  finish 
the  wiping  with  this  rag  or  use  another  for 
the  final  work.  The  last  rag  should  be  more 
fat  than  the  others  or  your  print  will  look 
weak.  This  is  the  most  important  part  of 
the  inking  and  the  method  is  varied  according 
to  the  effect  desired.  For  book-plates,  por- 
traits, and  work  that  needs  clear  printing,  ink 
is  put  on  the  palm  of  the  hand  with  the  dab- 
ber.  The  hand  is  drawn  several  times  over 
a  piece  of  whiting.  Mix  by  rubbing  the  hands 
together.  With  the  hand  thus  prepared,  pass 
over  the  plate  with  a  caressing  motion,  clean- 
ing away  the  surface  ink  more  or  less  without 
disturbing  the  lines. 

The  first  method  is  known  as  rag- wipe;  the 
second  as  hand-wipe.    Thoroughly;  clean  the 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      133 

edges  of  the  plate  with  a  bit  of  rag  dipped  in 
whiting.  When  the  plate  is  wiped  to  your 
satisfaction,  it  is  again  heated  until  quite 
warm.  Now  drag  a  bit  of  loosely  folded 
cheesecloth  over  the  plate  across  the  lines  you 
wish  to  print  strong.  The  fluff  on  the  cloth 
pulls  some  of  the  ink  over  the  edge  of  the 
lines  and  gives  a  rich  effect  in  the  print.  This 
is  called  stumping  or  retroussage.  It  is  very 
important  but  should  be  employed  with  judg- 
ment. Over-stumping  is  worse  than  no  stump- 
ing at  all,  as  it  gives  the  print  a  mussy  appear- 
ance. The  plate  is  now  ready  for  the  press. 
Aquatints  should  never  be  stumped.  In  the 
beginning  one  is  tempted  to  depend  too  much 
on  what  Hamerton  calls  artificial  printing. 
In  this  method  the  printer  uses  whiting  to 
paint  out  parts  and  get  effects  which  should 
have  been  arrived  at  with  the  needle  and  acid. 
It  is  much  the  best  to  complete  the  effect  on 
the  plate  and  print  simply.  The  plate  should 
always  be  cleaned  with  turpentine  after  print- 
ing to  get  all  the  ink  out  of  the  lines.    Old 


134  ETCHING   AND 

ink  in  the  lines  is  hard  to  remove.    Use  a  satu- 
rated solution  of  potash  to  remove  old  ink. 

Paper. — Etching  paper  is  of  various  col- 
ours and  thicknesses,  from  the  heaviest  plate 
to  the  thinnest  Japanese.  Plate  paper  is  of  a 
spongy  nature  not  unlike  blotting-paper.  It 
is  used  for  proofs,  but  mezzotints  are  some- 
times printed  on  it.  It  is  also  used  as  a  back- 
ing for  very  thin  China  paper.  The  paper 
is  cut  to  the  exact  size  of  the  copper  plate, 
flour  paste  is  put  on  the  back,  and  it  is  then 
run  through  the  press  with  a  sheet  of  plate  pa- 
per to  which  it  adheres.  Good  etching  paper 
should  be  soft  or  half-sized.  Japanese  paper 
and  plate  paper  can  be  wet  down  just  before 
printing.  The  Japanese  should  be  drier. 
Most  papers  except  the  Japanese  should  be 
dampened  with  a  sponge  the  day  before  print- 
ing and  kept  between  blotters  making  sure 
that  the  edges  are  wet.  The  Japanese  paper 
can  be  dampened  an  hour  or  so  before.  All 
sized  papers  should  be  wet  down  the  day  be- 
fore printing.    A  good  way  to  dampen  paper 


OTHER    GRAPHIC   ARTS      135 

is  to  pass  each  sheet  through  a  tub  of  clean 
water,  and  then  place  between  wet  blotters. 
Thin  sheets  of  zinc  are  used  to  hold  the  damp- 
ened paper.  Thin  Japanese  paper  should  be 
dampened  with  a  sponge  by  tapping  lightly 
on  the  back.  All  paper  should  be  limp  but 
not  wet  on  the  surface.  Sized  papers  should 
be  brushed  on  the  right  side  before  printing. 
Old  account  books  of  hand-made  French  or 
Dutch  paper  are  much  sought  after  by  etchers. 
Dry  out  any  paper  that  may  be  left  after 
printing  before  putting  it  away,  as  it  is  liable 
to  mildew. 

Printing  the  Plate. — ^To  test  the  pressure 
on  the  press  pass  a  clean  plate  through  with 
a  piece  of  plate  paper.  Hold  the  paper 
toward  the  light  and  looking  across  it,  study 
the  shine.  This  should  be  equal  at  both  ends 
of  the  plate  if  the  pressure  is  even.  The 
strong  lines  of  the  design  will  be  embossed  on 
the  paper. 

In  most  cases  the  inked  plate  should  be 
warm  but  not  hot.    Make  sure  that  the  zinc 


136  ETCHING   AND 

on  the  bed  of  the  press  is  perfectly  clean. 
Use  a  rag  with  turpentine  for  this.  Place  the 
warm  plate  on  the  zinc  with  the  long  side 
parallel  to  the  rollers.  Over  this  carefully 
place  the  moistened  paper  and  upon  this  place 
a  sheet  of  tissue  paper  and  pull  the  blankets 
down.  These  are  already  part  way  through 
the  rollers  nipped  in  far  enough  to  hold  them. 
Turn  the  press  with  a  steady  motion  not  stop- 
ping while  the  plate  is  between  the  rollers. 
Lift  the  blankets  and  throw  the  free  end  over 
the  top  roller.  Take  off  the  tissue  paper,  be- 
ginning at  a  corner  nearest  roller.  Now  lift 
the  print  carefully  by  the  two  corners  farthest 
from  the  rollers.  A  couple  of  pieces  of  card- 
board folded  once  to  grip  the  paper  will  pre- 
vent black  finger  marks  on  the  margin  of  the 
print. 

Treating  a  Fresh  Print. — ^The  old  etchers 
had  wires  stretched  across  the  room  and  hung 
their  fresh  prints  on  them  face  up,  for  a  num- 
ber of  days  to  dry.  It  is  now  more  usual  to 
place  them  between  large  sheets  of  blotting- 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      137 

paper.  But  in  no  case  are  they  to  be  put  un- 
der pressure  until  the  ink  has  had  a  chance 
to  harden.  The  ridges  of  ink  would  be 
crushed  down  under  the  pressure.  After- 
ward they  should  be  put  in  fresh  blotters  and 
subjected  to  pressure  so  that  the  paper  will 
dry  perfectly  smooth.  A  better  way,  but  one 
taking  more  time,  is  to  stretch  (or  strain)  the 
etching,  after  dampening  the  back,  on  a  draw- 
ing board  or  academy  board,  pasting  down 
the  edges  with  photo  paste.  When  perfectly 
dry,  cut  the  paper  inside  the  pasted  edge. 

Some  Suggestions  for  Inking  and  Printing. 
— If  the  plate  is  bitten  lightly  use  strong  ink. 
Old  ink  gives  more  tone.  A  cold  plate  printed 
slowly  with  heavy  pressure  leaves  more  tone. 
For  a  bright  proof  print  hot  and  quickly  with 
normal  pressure.  Do  not  leave  so  much  ink 
on  the  plate  that  the  line  is  lost.  To  make  a 
strong  print,  hand-wipe  cold,  stump  cold  with 
a  fat  rag,  then  heat  and  stump  in  the  usual 
way.  For  plates  with  over-burnished  lines, 
ink  hot,  hand-wipe  cold,  and  warm  up  well 


138  ETCHING   AND 

to  stump.  For  over-bitten  plate,  use  Frank- 
fort, burnt  umber,  rag-wipe  and  do  not  stump. 
Thick  ink  gives  more  brilliancy. 

Greater  pressure  gives  greater  tone.  To 
take  out  some  of  the  ink  in  over-bitten  lines, 
wipe  with  stumping  muslin.  Passing  the 
print  back  through  the  press  a  second  time 
gives  additional  strength.  Start  wiping  with 
a  rather  clean  rag  and  finish  with  a  fat  one. 
Some  plates  are  improved  by  going  over  them 
with  printing  muslin  after  hand-wiping.  The 
thinner  the  ink,  the  more  mat  tone  the  print 
has.  The  hardest  plate  to  print  is  the  deli- 
cately bitten  one.  Hand-wiping  is  usually 
best  for  dry-point.  In  retroussage  or  stump- 
ing, pull  out  the  dark  parts  first. 

If  your  proof  is  a  failure,  look  first  to  the 
pressure  and  then  to  the  paper.  The  paper 
will  not  print  well  if  it  is  either  too  wet  or 
too  dry.  The  ink  may  not  be  just  right.  Often 
a  beginner  wipes  the  ink  out  of  the  lines,  thus 
giving  a  poor  proof.  When  you  are  through 
printing  be  sure  to  remove  all  ink  from  the 


OTHER   GRAPHIC   ARTS      139 

plates  by  warming  them  and  going  over  them 
with  turpentine.  If  the  plate  is  steel  faced  it 
must  be  covered  with  a  coating  of  beeswax 
put  on  hot.  This  will  prevent  the  steel  from 
rusting  and  you  can  remove  the  beeswax  with 
benzine  when  you  wish  to  use  the  plate  again. 
Clean  everything  which  has  ink  on  it  with  tur- 
pentine and  leave  all  tools  in  good  condition 
for  the  next  printing. 


PLATE  No.  1 


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1.  Etching  Needle  in  Wooden  Handle 

2.  Solid  Steel  Etching  Needle 

3.  Burnisher  with  Blunt  End 

4.  Burnisher  with  Sharp  End 

5.  Scraper 

6  and  7.    Top  and  Side  View  of  Burin 
8  and   9.     Two    Kinds    of    Mezzotint 
Scrapers 

10.  Plate  Callipers 

11.  Anvil  of  Steel  and  Polished  on  Top 

12.  Hammer  to  Knock  Up  Plate 


PLATE  No.  2 


1.  Roller  of  Rubber  or  Leather 

2.  Dabber  for  Putting  on  Ground,  about 

3  Inches  Wide 

3.  Oil  Rubber.  Made  of  Blanketing 

4.  Twisted  Wax  Tapers 

5.  Ink  Dabber,  about  6  Inches  Wide 

6.  Section  of  Etched  Line 

7.  Section    through    Dry    Point     Burr 

When  Needle  is  Held  Slanting 

8.  Section  of  Engraved  Line 

9.  Section    through    Dry    Point    Burr 

When  Needle  is  Held  Upright 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


ADDRESSES  FOR  MATERIALS 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

Printing,  plates,  grounds,  tools,  etc. — 

Fred  Reynolds^  53  Vesey  Street.  (The  fron- 
tispiece of  this  book  is  an  example  of  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds' printing.) 

English  plates,  tools,  etc. — 

J.  W.  Sellers  &  Sons^  6  Murray  Street. 

American  plates — 

Wm.  H.  Snyder  Co.,  108  Fulton  Street. 

Steel  Facing — 

F.  A.  Ringler  &  Co.,  41  Barclay  Street. 

Presses — 

Kelton  &  Co.,  Lafayette  Street. 

Blanketing — 

L.  Gehlert,  204  East  18th  Street. 

Papers — 

Japan  Paper  Co.,  109  East  31st  Street. 
Millar  &  Wright,  65  Duane  Street. 

Lithographic  crayons — 

W.  KoRN,  120  Center  Street. 

BOSTON,  MASS. 

Plates,  tools,  etc. — 

Frost  &  Adams  Co.,  Cornhill. 
Printing — 

John  H.  Daniels  &  Son,  232  Summer  Street. 
Papers — 

Stone  &  Andrews,  270  Congress  Street. 
143 


144  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Plates,  tools,  etc. — 

F.  Weber  &  Co.,  1125  Chestnut  Street. 

Lithographic  printing — 

Ketterlinus  Lithographic  Manufactur- 
ing Co. 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 

Inks  and  plate  oils — 

Chas.  Hellmuth,  355  South  Clark  Street. 
Presses — 

Wanner  Machine  Co.,  215  W.  Congress 

Street. 

Plates — 

American  Steel  &  Copper  Co.,  114  Federal 
Street. 

Paper — 

The  Paper  Mills  Co.,  517  South  5th  Avenue. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 

Plates,  tools,  etc. — 

Geo.  Russell  Reed  Co.,  345  Clay  Street. 
Blanketing — 

E.  L.  Shattuck  Co.,  130  Fremont  Street. 

Paper — 

Zollerbach  Paper  Co.,  534  Battery  Street. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  145 

LONDON,  ENGLAND. 

Tools,  grounds,  plates,  etc. — 

A.  W.  Penrose  &  Co.,  109  Farringdon  Road, 

E.G. 

Haddon  &  Co.,  Salisbury  Square,  Fleet  Street, 

E.C. 

Hughes   &   Kimber^   West   Harding   Street, 

Fetter  Lane,  E.C. 

W.  W.  Rhind,  69  Gloucester  Road,  Regent's 

Park. 

Plates — 

J.  J.  Griffin  &  Son^  20  Sardinia  Street,  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Fields. 

Inks — 

Winston  &  Co.,  100  Shoe  Lane,  E.C. 

Paper — 

O.  W.  Paper  Co.,   105  Grt.  Russell  Street, 

W.C. 

F.  J.  Head  &  Co.,  15  Grt.  Russell  Street,  W.C. 

Spalding  &  Co.,  Drury  Lane,  W.C. 

Printer — 

F.  GouLDiNG^  Ltd.,  Netherwood  Place  Road, 
W.  Hammersmith. 

C.   W.   Welsch,   Old   Fields   House,   Brook 
Green  Road,  W. 

Lithographic  supplies,  tools,  papers,  etc. — 

L.  CoRNELissEN  &  SoN,  22  Grt.  Queen  Street, 
Long  Acre,  W.C, 


146  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

SHEFFIELD,  ENGLAND. 

Tools,  plates,  etc. — 

J.  W.  Sellers  &  Sons,  121  Arundel  Street. 

PARIS,  FRANCE. 

Plates,  tools,  presses,  etc. — 

Paris  American  Art  Co.,  125  Boulevard  du 

Montparnasse. 

H.  Calmels^  150  Boulevard  du  Montparnasse. 

Petit  Servant^  71  Rue  Saint  Louis-in-l'Ile. 

Printer — 

PoRCABEUF,  187  Rue  St.  Jacques. 


1 


A  LIST  OF  IMPORTANT  BOOKS  ON 
THE  GRAPHIC  ARTS 

Pen  Drawing  and  Pen  Draughtsmen — ^Joseph  Pennell. 

A  Treatise  on  Pen  Drawing — C.  D.  Maginnis. 

Modern  Illustration — Joseph  Pennell. 

Art  of  Pen  and  Ink  Drawing — H.  R.  Robertson. 

Elements  of  Drawing — ^John  Ruskin. 

The  Graphic  Arts — P.  G.  Hamerton. 

Hints  to  Art  Students — Chas.  Lasar. 

Landscape  Painting — Sir  Alfred  East. 

Composition — Dow. 

Composition — Poore. 

Ouvrons  les  Yeux — G.  Fatio. 

Illustrations  by  Robida. 
La  Hollande  a  Vol  d'Oiseau. 

Illustrations  by  Lalanne. 
Pablo  de  Segovia. 

Illustrations  by  Vierge. 
Die  Marchen  von  Rubezahl. 

Illustrations  by  Max  Slevogt. 
Die  Grimmchen  Marchen. 

Illustrations  by  Otto  Ubbelohde. 
Pen,  Pencil  and  Chalk — Special  Number,  International 

Studio. 

ETCHING 

On  the  Making  of  Etchings — Sir  Frank  Short.    R.  Dun- 
thorn,  London,  1888. 

Etchings  and  Engravings — Sir  Frank  Short.     Royal  So- 
ciety of  Painter-Etchers,  London,  1912. 
147 


148  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Etchings  and  Etchers — P.  G.  Hamerton.  MacmiUan  & 
Co.,  London,  1880. 

The  Etcher's  Handbook — P.  G.  Hamerton.  C.  Robert- 
son &  Co.,  London,  188L 

Treatise  on  Etching — Lalanne,  translated  by  S.  R.  Koeh- 
ler.    Boston,  1880. 

Etching,  Engraving  and  Other  Methods  of  Printing  Pic- 
tures— Singer  and  Strange.  K.  Paul  Trench  Triib- 
ner  &  Co.,  London,  1897. 

Eau-forte,  pointe  seche  et  vernis  mow  —  Delatre.  A. 
Lanier,  Paris,  1887. 

Etching,  Dry  Point,  Mezzotint — Hugh  Paton.  Raithby 
Lawrence  &  Co.,  London,  1895. 

Die  Kiinst  des  Radieren's — Hermann  Struck.  Paul  Cas- 
sirer,  Berlin,  1912. 

A  Short  History  of  Engraving  and  Etching — ^A.  Hind. 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1908. 

Etchings — F.  Wedmore.    Methuen  &  Co.,  London,  1911. 

Modern  Etchings  and  Engravings.  1902.  Studio  Spe- 
Number.    1913. 

Etchings,  Dry  Points  and  Mezzotints.  Studio  Special 
Number. 

The  Great  Pointer-Etchers  from  Rembrandt  to  Whistler. 
Studio  Special  Number.     1914. 

Print  Collector's  Handbook.    Whitman  &  Salaman. 

Print  Collector's  Handbook.  Issued  Quarterly  by  the 
Print  Department,  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts. 

How  to  Appreciate  Prints — Frank  Weitenkampf.  Mof- 
fat, Yard  &  Co.,  New  York,  1908. 

American  Graphic  Art — Frank  Weitenkampf.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  New  York,  1912. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


PAGE 


Acid    79 

Anvil  85 

Aquatint 68,  112 

Artists*  Proof  59 

Avoiding  Stopping-Out  102 

Biting  the  Plate 98 

Blanketing 124 

Burin 49,  86 

Burnisher 86 

Burr   65 

Callipers 85 

Chalk  Drawing   23 

Charcoal 87 

Charcoal  Dfavi^ing 24 

Composition   25 

Dabber 75 

Drawing  on  the  Plate 93 

Dry-point    65 

Dry-point  Needles   79 

Dutch  Bath 81 

Etching   53 

Etching  in  the  Bath 102 

Etching  Ground 75 

Etching  Needles   78,  120 

151 


152  INDEX 


PAGE 


Foul  Biting 105 

Gelatine  Method 96 

Glass  Prints   70 

Graver 86 

Grinding  the  Ink 129 

Half-Tone 32 

Hamerton's  Positive  Process  104 

Hammer   85 

Hand-wiping 132 

Heater 128 

Ink  Dabber 127 

Ink  Formulas 125 

Ink  Roller 127 

Inking  the  Plate 130 

Inks  124 

Intaglio  Printing 51 

Jigger 128 

Line  Engraving  48 

Liquid  Method 91 

List  of  Materials  for  Etching 73 

Lithography   42 

Making  Etching  Ground 77 

Mezzotint 68,  114 

Mezzotint  Ink  126 

Monotype 69 

Muller 128 


INDEX  158 


PAGE 


Oil  Rubber 87 

Original  Etching 62 

Painter-Etcher  62 

Paper 134 

Pen  Drawing 28 

Pencil  Drawing   19 

Perchloride  of  Iron 83 

Photogravure  32 

Plate 73,  117 

Plate  Mark 34,  57 

Plate  Oils 126 

Polishing  Plate 91 

Preparing  Plate  for  Acid   88 

Press 56,  122 

Printing 56,  122,  135 

Printing  Muslin 128 

Process   29 

Rag-wiping    132 

Rebiting   109 

Relief  Printing 51 

Remarque 59 

Reproductive  Etching 62 

Retroussage   57,  133 

Reworking  Ground  108 

Roller  Ground 90 

Scraper 85 

Silver  Point 22 

Slab   127 

Smoking  Plate 89 


154  INDEX 

PAGE 

Soft  Ground  67,  111 

Spirit  Ground 113 

States  of  the  Plate 61 

Steel  Engraving 50 

Steel  Facing 60 

Stipple  Engraving    50 

Stopping-out  Method 55,  100 

Stopping-out  Varnish  84 

Stumping   57,  133 

Suggestions  for  Inking  and  Printing 137 

Surface  Printing   51 

Transfer  Paper 95 

Transferring  through  Press 96 

Tray  for  Acid 79 

Treating  a  Fresh  Print 136 

Trial  Proof  59 

Whistler's  Method  of  Biting 103 

Wiping  the  Plate 131 

Wood  Engraving 38 


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